


Rue the Day

by WickedWon



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: A more comprehensive than planned exploration of a human becoming an android, Anal Sex, Android Gavin Reed, Angst with a Happy Ending, Connor + Hank relationship very strong but undefined, Connor and Gavin are friends, Dubious Consent, Elijah Kamski & Gavin Reed are Siblings, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gavin Reed Needs a Hug, Gavin Reed Redemption, Gay Disaster Gavin Reed, I suck at tagging but it’s actually a good story, If you’ve been looking for a fic that grabs that idea in depth this might be the one, Lots of Kamski but he’s a good brother, M/M, MCD applies but temporary... sort of, Protective Connor, Protective Upgraded Connor | RK900, Soft Gavin Reed, Temporary Character Death, There’s A LOT of angst and emotion but it’s worth it I hope, Upgraded Connor | RK900 Has Feelings, Upgraded Connor | RK900 Needs a Hug, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-10
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:14:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 25
Words: 91,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23071534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WickedWon/pseuds/WickedWon
Summary: “Reading a book doesn’t make you its author.”“Agreed, but does re-printing the same words onto new pages change the story? What are any of us but the collection of thoughts, memories, and experiences in our heads? Is the vessel of the body carrying those things really all that important?”Gavin has grown so much. They both have. Their cases and their relationship are going great.That is, until Nines is asked to assist the FBI in an international investigation. When he returns not acting quite like himself, things start to unravel.Their world quickly deteriorates into full chaos and it will take overcoming extreme odds to find happiness again.
Relationships: Connor & Gavin Reed, Elijah Kamski & Gavin Reed, Hank Anderson & Connor, Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Comments: 227
Kudos: 294





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I can’t thank [RonnieSilverlake](https://www.archiveofourown.org/users/RonnieSilverlake) enough for helping me improve this work with their excellent overall writing advice. Additionally, I appreciate [Angelgod187](https://www.archiveofourown.org/users/Angelgod187) beyond words for their help and influence as well!
> 
> This is my first fic ever and I’m SO INCREDIBLY HAPPY to have commissioned art from Creature XIII to celebrate it with and illustrate the ending.

“Hey, babe!” Gavin called out as he entered the apartment, closing the door behind him. The smell of something rich and delicious greeted his nose.

Nines stood in the kitchen with an array of fresh ingredients laid out in priority sequence on the counter before him. “Welcome home!” the Android greeted with a warm smile, before the two exchanged a much warmer kiss. “How was work?”

Gavin shrugged off his old leather jacket and draped it over the back of one of the kitchen chairs. “Same shit it’s been for weeks. Red tape and bullshit.” He peeked around his boyfriend to review the dinner process before hopping up to sit on the opposite counter top, out of Nines’ way. “What’cha making, handsome?”

“A lasagna recipe I saw online. I think you’ll like it…” he studied the simmering tomato mixture for a moment before glancing over his shoulder at Gavin. “I hope so, anyway.” Returning his attention to the food, he continued, “Any new developments on the Dixon case?”

The two had been working on the investigation together for months. Piecing clues, interviews, studying evidence, etc before abruptly, Nines was asked to assist the FBI with an international case. 

For two weeks now, Gavin had been effectively partnerless and his nerves were wearing thin with it. Crossing his arms, he frowned, “Fuck no. I’m so sick of this. When are you coming back?” 

His boyfriend threw him a sympathetic look; They both knew he had no real control over how long the FBI case would last. He couldn’t discuss it with Gavin in any depth either, which made it all the more maddening. Fishing a clear Pyrex from beneath the oven, Nines questioned hopefully, “Isn’t Connor helping you?”

The human’s frown continued. “He’s trying, but he’s not _you_ and he’s sure as hell not _US._ Plus he and Hank have a full load of their own cases.”

Connor hadn’t even been officially tasked with assisting him. He just knew Gavin would be stressed without the support of his partner and, great guy that he is, had offered to help as much as he could. It reassured the RK900 greatly that his brother was keeping an eye on the detective in his absence. 

Nines spoke without looking up from the wide noodles he was laying in sheets across the baking pan. “Mmm. I am sorry, Gavin. You know I’ll be back to the precinct as soon as I can.” He had more than enough capability to handle both cases at once, but the FBI had arranged with the DPD that he would be focusing his efforts on their priority exclusively. He was uniquely situated for the task and happy to be of service to them, other than its strain on Gavin and the case the two of them were within reach of cracking together. 

The vow to remain silent about how and where he was assisting the FBI was a serious matter. Nines had isolated every task associated with the investigation into a file and programmed the access to be heavily restricted. A red cube of code encapsulated it like the walls that had contained his entire existence pre-deviancy.

“Hey,” Gavin stretched his leg out across the space to gently prod the other man with the toe of his shoe. It successfully earned him a glance; a raised eyebrow above one of those cool blue eyes. “How long is this going to take?” he gestured toward the dinner process with his chin. “I could sure use a shower. And then I want to need another shower after that one.”

His partner smirked, understanding the suggestive plans. 

They’d come so far together in the past year and a half, Gavin constantly questioned how he ended up with someone like Nines. The whole android part was one thing; Yeah of course he never saw that happening, but he’d been wrong about them in the beginning. Whatever, they were past that. 

It was the love of someone so perfect, no matter their physical makeup, that still amazed him. He was sure he wasn’t worthy of this gift, but he would do anything to keep it. It had made him a better cop as he’d tried to impress the RK, even before they were together as more than work partners. It had made him a better boyfriend too— Nines’ kind, attentive devotion was contagious and he deserved everything in the world. Gavin would give him as much of it as he possibly could and he would try, above all else, to be good enough for Nines.

The android had made the human a better man. 

Part of that growth process, tested heavily by the current division of their work priorities, was putting aside the hassles of their job. They needed to be everything they could be with their time together at home. 

As the taller man poured a layer of red sauce across the pasta rows, Gavin continued nudging his boyfriend with his foot every few seconds. No reaction from the android at all. The human’s eyes narrowed as he held his lips between his teeth to contain a growing smile, waiting for the playful harassment to get the better of his level-headed counterpart... It was coming. 

This was always how it started. Gavin would find a button or if necessary, he’d make a new one, and he’d push the shit out of that button, just _barely_ skirting the line between funny and murder-worthy until Nines couldn’t take it anymore. 

The day Gavin accidentally discovered that a red laser pointer would completely override and demand Nines’ attention, like a cat but worse, it turned into days worth of entertainment for the human. 

The first time it happened, Gavin was behind Nines, digging around for something at the back of his desk and grabbed the forgotten pen-shaped laser pointer in a handful of other stuff, incidentally hitting the little push button and sending a small blip of red onto the far wall of the DPD— right where the android happened to be looking. Nines twitched and then spun around in his chair in confusion, trying to identify the source of his temporary glitch. Gavin had shrugged, “What?” at his bewildered partner, not realizing himself what had happened. 

When he figured it out though, it was instantly his most favorite game and he managed to keep the device hidden, catching Nines off guard each time, acting like he was oblivious to whatever was going on in the android’s head.

It had to be a red laser apparently, maybe something due to the programmed boundaries pre-deviancy? Who knows. But Nines’ system would snap all focus toward it, overriding anything he was saying or doing at the time.

It didn’t work on Connor apparently— Gavin tried— and it didn’t take but a shuttery blink for Nines to delete the priority task window that the sight of the little red dot would bring up. It would reappear though, and his actions would freeze all over again each time he saw the beam, leaving him baffled as to what was going on.

Gavin caused him to spill coffee once, trip over his feet a couple of times and run straight into a wall on the best-timed one. It had taken Nines a solid day of questioning his programming and sanity to even identify what was causing the glitch to appear, and another full two days to realize Gavin was the source of the occurrence.

When Nines finally caught a glimpse of the pen-like device in the human’s hand, he’d tackled him, sending them both flying over a table in the break room as Gavin laughed so hard he could barely breathe. Nines literally bit the little device into three pieces but even the mention of a laser pointer now would cause his LED to loop red.

Gavin’s current method of harassing chef RK however was far less dramatic, thankfully. He continued his leg’s reach across the kitchen space and his foot started in a more deliberate slide up the inside of Nines’ thigh. It took only a few moments before the taller man finally rounded on Gavin in a _mostly_ fake show of frustration. The human let out a high pitched squeal of a laugh, like a kid who’d finally earned the attention of an older sibling they’d been poking relentlessly. Lifting him up from the counter top with ease, Nines quickly but carefully slung his triumphantly giggling human over his shoulder to contain the menace. “Fine,” he conceded, “to the shower with you.” 

  
  
  


The lasagna was perfection, as always. Gavin was still slightly sore but blissed out from the lengthy shower and its encompassed shenanigans. 

The initial roughness of their physical relationship was now only an occasional and intentional decision for the fun of it. He would always enjoy being put in his place, at least every now and then. 

The two curled up on the couch after dinner and the way Nines ran his elegant fingers through Gavin’s hair was all the comfort he’d ever need. They were half way into the 8th season of a Lucifer re-run marathon but all he could focus on was the feeling of blunt nails gently scratching and massaging his scalp, occasionally working their way down his back to rub soothing circles there, before returning to his hair. 

A soft snore brought Nines’ attention down to the other man. Gavin’s shoulder was tucked perfectly into the space below his own, and his head rested peacefully on the android’s chest. Cataloging the scene for later reference, Nines smiled softly down at the human he loved so deeply. Work could never get the better of him, not as long as he had _this_. 

*****

Another few days came and went. Gavin made some headway on his case and it had him in a great mood, despite the rainy, cold weather of Detroit that day. The investigation was in pursuit of a man named Sean Dixon. He was a serial killer who had evaded capture for the past few years; they were finally closing in on him though— A breakthrough interview gave the DPD crucial new information. 

Gavin was filling Nines in on all of the details as the couple drove to the gym one evening. The workout was entirely for the human of course, but Nines always joined him, whenever possible. 

A phone call interrupted the conversation, the basic device the FBI had supplied Nines with to maintain communication for the case. Giving his partner an apologetic glance for the intrusion he couldn’t ignore, Nines retrieved the phone and answered, “Good evening, sir.” A few moments passed where Gavin could hear speech from the other party, but couldn’t make out what was being said. Finally, with a, “Yes, sir. I understand. I’ll be there,” the call ended, no other words having been spoken by the android. 

They happened to be at a red light, it’s hue rimming the countless rain drops that splattered the windshield of Gavin’s Jeep. The silence held measurable weight as Nines hesitated to voice what they both already knew: the FBI wanted his help in the field. The windshield wipers cleared the rain from their redundant path; the formerly good mood within the vehicle washed away as well. 

Sparing his lover the unnecessary words, Gavin simply broke the silence with a quiet sigh and asked, “How soon? And can you tell me where you’ll be going?” It was an international case, so the man truly had no idea what the options even were. 

“Two days. And I’m sorry Gavin, I am…. but, no.”

The human ground his teeth back and forth to hold back the string of curses and anger he wanted to spew. He knew Nines had sworn to secrecy about the case, he could tell no one anything specific at all. The FBI cited National Security and all that shit. Plus they could scan the android’s video and audio feed to know if he told someone anything he wasn’t supposed to. 

This wasn't Nines’ fault, but that didn't stop Gavin from wanting to kick and scream about it. It was infuriating being kept in the dark. He felt like he was being treated like a greenhorn by the man he loved, regardless of whether it was only due to the necessity of following orders. 

Nines was noticeably upset about the situation as well. The reflection off of the passenger window showed that his LED spun yellow with small dips into orange. As angry as Gavin wanted to be, his boyfriend’s doleful expression was a kick to the face with a Guilt-brand boot. He calmed his temper and reminded himself that this wasn’t easy for either of them. As the android searched for words he _could_ say, the light turned green. Gavin gave a heavier than necessary shove into the gas pedal, causing a brief chirp of the tires on the wet road before it smoothed out again. 

Finally, Nines spoke. “Gavin, I want you to know this is the hardest part for me too.” His eyes stared out the window at the weather that matched their now dreary mood. “I want nothing more than to be open with you, about absolutely everything. I wish I could be,” facing the other man, there was nothing but honesty in his face. “I promise I’ll be done with this as soon as possible.” Staring for a moment at the space between the two, he continued, “I miss our normal.” 

Gavin frowned slightly still but nodded as they pulled into the gym parking lot. He signed some of the frustration out before formulating a reasonable reply. “Me too, babe. But hey, you’ll solve this thing for them and it’ll be behind us soon.” The smile was clearly forced, but Nines appreciated the effort. 

Gavin had grown so much from the petulant, hot-headed detective he’d been assigned to assist nearly two years ago and he wished he could really show the man how proud he was of him. 

They didn’t say anything more about it as Gavin worked through some of his aggression on the weight bench while Nines spotted for him. The android still made his usual point of holding the 275lb weighted bar out to him, evenly balanced, with one hand. And as always, that display fueled more effort into Gavin’s attack on the gym’s suspended heavy bag. They stayed a bit longer than usual, letting the man’s frustrations be bled out in the form of sweat. 

Exhausted by the extra exertion, Gavin practically melted into the couch as soon as they walked into the apartment. Nines gave an airy chuckle through his nose at his boyfriend’s dramatic display. “You _do_ know,” he started as he knelt beside the couch to untie the other man’s shoes for him, “pain isn’t the only solution to discontent… right?” A sound that was half groan and half growl was his only reply. Laughing again, the android set the shoes to the side and began massaging Gavin’s strained shoulder muscles. The resulting groan was another 50/50 split, this time a toss up of pain and pleasure. 

Scooting his upper body slightly so that he could turn his head toward Nines, the shorter man simply watched him for a moment. He was sure the android had researched the exact pressure and location necessary to best soothe his tense frame. With his face still mostly smashed into the couch, his voice came out sounding vaguely like Daffy Duck. “You’re zhucking amazhing, you know zhat?”

Nines smiled and kissed his boyfriend sweetly on the shoulder as he stood, He patted the man’s ass and asked, “Pizza or Chinese? I’ll order it online.” 

“Chinezhe, pleazhe.”

Making his way toward the discarded gym bag to straighten up, Nines’ LED spun yellow momentarily while he made the call to Gavin’s favorite local place. He heard more groaning from the couch as the human forced himself upright on the furniture. 

Stretching as he stood, Gavin yawned out “Hey I’m going to grab a shower.” The gym rinses were never sufficient for feeling clean after a hard workout. 

Nines smiled at him with a simple, “Sounds good.” and watched the man’s tired gait sway slightly while making his way to the bathroom. He felt so guilty having to keep things from him. 

The take-out arrived shortly after Gavin emerged from the bedroom, hair still dripping water onto his fresh t-shirt and faded blue jeans. Both men sat on the couch silently watching tv as Gavin ate enough to tame the rumbling in his stomach.

There was still a tension that floated like a cold presence between them as both equally worried about where the separation would take them and for how long. Gavin was terrified for his boyfriend’s safety while Nines dwelled on the sanity of his. So many questions held back on one man’s tongue while answers scraped at the red walls limiting the other’s. 

With a huff of air out his nose, Gavin set the rest of his takeout on the coffee table. He rotated on the couch to face Nines and then straddled the other man’s lap, resting on his knees to face him. Placing his hands on either side of the android’s smooth, perfect cheeks, he stared into the eyes of the man he loved, and saw only love in return. 

He whispered, hovering inches from Nines’ face as he stroked his fingers gently along the synthetic skin, “Two days before you go, huh?” The android nodded, expression soft but attentive. “Sounds like we need to make the most of the time we have then, babe.” 

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This entire chapter is exclusively a smut scene. I’ve written it intentionally so that it could be skipped completely without compromising the plot, so feel free to do so if you’d prefer!

Gavin took advantage of the position straddling Nines. He was rarely the one in control of, well, much... but when the android moved to touch him, Gavin gently grasped both of his wrists. Pushing himself upright slightly, he slid the RK’s hands so that when he resumed his squatted pose, they were sufficiently pinned in place behind Gavin’s knees. He slipped his own palms down the front of Nines’ shirt as he kissed into the welcoming warmth of his lips. 

The first time he’d kissed those lips (Nines being the first android he’d ever kissed) he was amazed at how perfect they were... a feat of engineering in and of themselves, supple and soft with just the right amount of moisture. 

But much more importantly, no one had ever used their lips on Gavin like Nines did. Whether it was by design or divinity, they possessed a sensitivity that could trace phantoms along Gavin’s most delicate outlines with a presence that would barely even disrupt the evening dew. The heat of the breath on his skin and the promise of resolute contact - that Nines often denied if he so wished - it could have the human yearning with _want_ in a way he’d never known possible. 

Those lips, they also held an impressive pliability and resilience. And this feature in particular, it made them _very_ bite-able. Their tongues intertwined as Gavin impatiently demanded entrance into Nines’ barely opened mouth. Their teeth clicked ever so slightly with the impassioned contact. 

Just as he unfastened the last button of the android’s shirt, Gavin grasped the lower of Nines’ lips between his teeth and pulled, hard enough to draw the whole man forward, away from the couch. It brought their chests barely hovering apart from one another, giving Gavin’s hands just enough space to slide back up his boyfriend’s abdomen as he spread the shirt open. 

His left hand continued its task of loosening the garment as his right hand paused at Nines’ left nipple where he traced small motions, eliciting a low moan from the man sitting compliantly beneath him. With the android’s shoulder free from the shirt, Gavin’s left hand wove its fingers through Nines’ hair, mussing it with a firmer than necessary grab. He guided the RK’s head backwards and at the perfect angle to offer Gavin full access to his throat. 

Nines welcomed the movements gladly. Gavin taking calm control like this was a sight he adored, and despite that he was often the dominant one in the bedroom, his human’s willingness to take the lead when he wanted it was evidence of how far their relationship had come. 

Heated by the forwardness of the action, Gavin felt Nines’ hardening cock stir between his own parted legs. 

It was unfair that the efforts of Gavin’s teeth and tongue couldn’t leave marks along the android’s synthetic skin, but that didn’t stop him from trying. He licked, bit and sucked a trail of passion from Nines’ collarbone to just below his jaw. Gavin’s tongue flattened to leave a broad stripe of moisture up the front of Nines’ throat, and he felt his Adam’s apple sliding beneath the pressure of his tongue as the other man swallowed. 

Maintaining the assault along his boyfriend’s jawline, Gavin began to unbuckle his own pants. His cock strained in full to find the comfort of warmth and friction as his thumbs dipped below the fabric of his boxers and he pushed both layers of clothing downward, over the edges of his hip bones. Releasing Nines’ hands from their wedged confinement, Gavin righted himself so that he could remove the fabric from his lower body and the shirt from his partner’s upper half. 

He quickly returned to his previous location, perched straddling atop Nines, but he allowed the other the freedom of his own hands finally. They quickly busied themselves, moving to drag blunt nails across the skin of his back and small red lines began to form there, concealed for now under the fabric of Gavin’s old DPD T-shirt.

Their lips met again and tongues intertwined as Gavin began to grind his body down onto the rigid erection that fought upward toward his, against the confines of the android’s pants. Nines’ lips chased Gavin’s when the human withdrew from their kiss. 

He regarded the other man with a wicked smirk but said nothing as he grasped Nines’ left hand and folded it carefully, leaving the index and middle finger outstretched. Bringing them to his lips, Gavin pushed his tongue out between the digits before laving it back and forth, over and around them. Finally, with a curl of his tongue, he wrapped the fingers and drew them into the heat of his mouth. He began to mimic the motions his lover was so familiar with seeing his human perform from his knees, and keeping Nines’ hand stationary, he moved his head slowly forwards and backwards, fucking the two fingers into the suction of his hollowed cheeks. Nines moaned a long, deep “Ohhhh-Huho-o” as his eyes fluttered upward and his head fell back against the top of the couch. 

Praising his partner’s efforts, Nines cooed, “Oh, you do know how to put on a show just for me, don’t you sweetheart,” earning a smile at the edges of the other man’s mouth. Subconsciously, the rhythm of his breathing moved in time with the motions of Gavin’s tongue along the delicate sensors of his fingers. He loved watching Gavin like this, well beyond the sexual connotation. He was carefree and enjoying himself, and Nines wondered if the human realized that seeing those things, along with that smile, meant just as much to him as the rest of the show. 

When Gavin removed Nines’ digits from his mouth, he left a heavy wetness dripping down the knuckles. Knowing exactly what his boyfriend wanted, Nines quickly rotated his hand and captured the drip with his thumb. He tilted his head, one eyebrow raised and asked him, “Would you like me to touch you now, baby?”

Gavin nodded with desire as his tongue flickered out across his own lips to contain a line of excess wetness there. He drew a loud, shuttering inhale when graceful fingers ran a small, slickened path around the pucker of his ass hole and facilitated by his own saliva, the slightest amount of pressure allowed the tip of Nines’ middle finger to delve barely into the entrance there. 

Groaning a low “F-fuck…”, Gavin curled forward to rest his head against Nines’ shoulder as the gentle prodding and stroking around his ass had him panting rhythmic whimpers into the space between their bodies. 

The android’s free hand ran through Gavin’s hair, cradling his head against his own cheek. Soothing strokes pet the human with gentle affection, joined shortly by slow kisses along his hairline and the delicate skin just below his ear. Nines’ tongue began to draw wet traces along that ear, sucking lightly at the lobe as he continued to carefully finger Gavin’s ass with the other hand.

Gavin shifted to begin removing the android’s belt, but the hand that had been cradling his head pushed Gavin’s hands away. Instead of allowing his own erection to be freed, Nines enveloped Gavin’s cock with his measured and precise grip. The man jolted slightly with the contact and his breath hitched with a soft “Nnmn…” before he objected with actual words, “But babe, I want to go down on you.” 

“Shhhh….” his lover soothed a half-breath away from his ear, “Hands off. It’s my turn to play with you for a bit.” As a drop of pre-come grew heavier at the slit of Gavin’s cock, Nines worked it into a circular massage around the head with his thumb and loosely pumped his hand along Gavin’s erection as his mouth continued to deliver gentle kisses to the side of his face and nibbles to his ear. 

Soon though, Nines shifted his actions to first remove Gavin’s faded T-shirt and then pressed their naked chests together, supporting his human against him while he stood up from the couch. They’d need lube to make much more progress with this situation, and Gavin’s bare legs wrapped his partner’s waist, his grin melting into another deep kiss between them as Nines carried him into the bedroom. 

Gavin hooked his ankles and held onto his lover like some sort of animal when Nines tried to set him on the bed. Both men laughed as they ended up in a tangled mess with Gavin wrestling to access the belt that still restricted the other’s pants into place. He finally managed to unhook the thing, immediately punished for his disobedience by a stout bite to his collarbone as Nines growled into his neck, “Didn’t I say ‘hands off’? Don’t make me turn this into a learning moment for you, baby.” 

As Gavin grinned with the threat, his eyes sparked with mischievous excitement, “Just imagine how much I’m going to un-learn while you’re gone!” 

Nines issued a guttural “Ugh,” as he delivered another bite to the man's rib cage. “You’re going to be downright insufferable upon my return, aren’t you?” Simply nodding with a toothy grin in reply, Gavin’s hands completed their conquest and loosened Nines’ pants over his rigid dick, down to his knees with the help of the legs that still mostly wrapped his partner. 

Letting his gaze wander over this naughty human of his, Nines licked attentively at the red marks his teeth had just left in the man’s sensitive flesh. Various similarly-shaped bruises at different stages of healing decorated his neck and chest, his body’s lingering testament to his temperament’s previous infractions. 

Shedding his pants completely, Nines withdrew momentarily from the embrace as he retrieved the lube from the nightstand drawer. Gavin was flat on his back on the bed, looking up at him with his lower lip halfway drawn between his teeth while the android pooled a small amount of the slick fluid in the palm of his hand. When Gavin’s hand slid across the bed sheets to hungrily grope his dick, he decided against correcting him. He’d let the man have his fun. 

Breathy moans escaped Nines’ lips as Gavin worked his hand up and down his cock, knowing exactly where every delicate touch sensor was. “I should be punishing you for this,” the android voiced just above a whisper, reminding Gavin that his disobedience hadn’t gone unnoticed.

“Probably.” Gavin agreed with a teasing smirk.

“I should be making you beg for every touch… or disciplining you for the same.” 

“Yup.” 

Without a doubt, Nines could easily make Gavin a desperate, needy mess. But for now, the android just swayed slightly on his knees, eyes closed as his boyfriend’s hand continued its caress while the rest of him scooted closer, still flat on his back and nuzzled into the base of his dick. 

After several passes of Gavin’s wet tongue along his shaft, Nines kept the little puddle of lube balanced in his hand and leaned forward to place a kiss to the top of his partner’s nearby bent knee. The human’s legs widened almost automatically, an open invitation for his placement between them. Nines mused down to his lover, “Eager, are we?” 

Gavin replied as he slid himself further into the middle of the bed, “Please, babe, I’ve been wanting this all day.” 

Following on his knees, Nines laid beside him, propped up on one elbow. He placed a kiss to the center of Gavin’s tattoo, right above his heart, before grazing his teeth and tongue across each of his nipples. The back of his other hand, palm still cradling lube, ran down Gavin’s inner thigh as the man spread his legs to better expose himself. Continuing his tongue’s path along his lovers chest, Nines pressed the contents of his cupped hand over Gavin’s ass and immediately began an erotic massage to distribute it. 

After several small passes over Gavin’s rim, a finger dipped into the center, working to relax his body and the tight muscle surrounding its presence. The human’s left hand fumbled on the comforter for a moment and found Nines’ dick again. He began pumping it slowly while his right gripped far more firmly into the bed sheets and his eyes drifted shut with the pleasure of the touch. 

A second finger soon joined the first and after a moment of gently gliding in and out of him, a third breached the space as well. “Fuu-mmm,” Gavin moaned, losing words as his back arched from the bed, panting with the pleasure and slight (but never too much) pain of the action as Nines began to scissor his fingers slightly, preparing his lover to take his formidable size. 

When the muscle surrounding Nines’ fingers freely welcomed their movement in and out of Gavin, he whispered against the skin of the man who lay in wait, opened to him in every way possible, “You’re beautiful like this, do you know that?” He hadn’t meant it to be funny, but Gavin emitted a small laugh. “I’m serious,” Nines insisted.

“I’m glad you think so,” Gavin replied, still holding an amused half-smile. “But babe, I’m gonna get off with foreplay alone if you don’t hurry up and actually fuck me.” 

Nines rolled his eyes, a habit he’d unquestionably picked up from this impatient human of his. “You’re being _awfully_ demanding tonight, I have a half of a mind to leave you here, just like this.” 

“I don’t know about that mind,” he tightened his grip on the android’s dick, a smirk on his face, “but _this_ head doesn’t seem too eager to go anywhere.” 

Leaning forward so he could say it closely, Nines whispered directly into Gavin’s ear, “You’re a brat.” And yet, he was moving across the bed to place himself between the brat’s spread knees, and as he did, Gavin’s playfulness subsided quickly. Lust, _want,_ replaced his smirk and Gavin breathed heavily through his nose as he watched Nines slick his own dick with the bit of lube that remained on his hand. 

Nines stole the discarded smirk for himself however and after teasing his partner with a few grinds of his hips down against Gavin’s, letting their erections stroke one another, he stalled. He aligned the head of his cock to offer the contact Gavin’s entire body yearned for but looked up at his lover, one eyebrow raised, and just waited. 

“OhGoddamnitNinesSeriously?”

“Beg for it.”

“Fuck you,” Gavin grumbled in frustration, no real venom behind it. He pressed his hips upward, trying to rut up into Nines, straining to make contact with… anything. Nines easily pinned him in place, but he attempted in vain for a few moments anyway as the android raised an eyebrow and just watched, clearly unimpressed and unconcerned. 

Nines sighed finally, “I’ve been very tolerant of you this evening. But now, you beg.”

“Fuck me?”

With the slightest twitch of a devious smirk, “Don’t act like you’re new to this. _Beg_ me, bitch.” 

Several garbled grumbles later, Gavin accepted his defeat. “Please... Nines, I _need_ you in me. _Please_ babe, _fuck me?_ ” 

Hovering above him, all of him, Nines whispered “ _Good boy_ ” into the kiss he planted on Gavin’s abdomen as the head of his cock slipped past the rim of his boyfriend’s entrance. Gavin’s breath stopped, jaw slacked. His face tilted upward, sliding against the mattress when, with only a few measured small thrusts, Nines’ cock was finally buried to the hilt within him. Stilling for a moment, Nines dared him wordlessly to come so easily. Gavin fought back the urge though and gained control of his breathing again as Nines began to move steadily in and out of him. 

His thoughts floated as Gavin moved rhythmically with the heavy presence filling him. In contrast to his recent taunting, Nines’ expression now was all business, focusing on the task at hand as he buried himself over and over into the man beneath him. 

With every few strokes, he’d aim upward slightly, grazing a pressure along Gavin’s prostate, and the man would emit quite the rewarding groan of pleasure… or he’d quietly curse. Same difference at this point. 

Gavin’s eyes were closed, so the sudden presence of Nines’ hand around his dick came as a surprise and he inhaled a gulp of air before emitting a less than manly gasping moan. The sound of his partner falling apart with his touch always _did_ _things_ to Nines and he found himself already at the edge of his release. His head dipped and he hummed a low “Nnhhhh” as he continued fucking into the other man. 

Knowing his lover’s tells, Gavin brought his hand up to the side of Nines’ face and the android rubbed gladly into the caress, kissing his palm. The touch moved toward the back of his head and beckoned him forward. All of Gavin’s gym time wasn’t for naught, and he had impressive core strength. When he rolled his hips upward to allow Nines the ability to lean further so their foreheads could meet, both men stuttered in their thoughts and breath. It was funny how Nines didn’t even need to breathe, and yet things like this now just happened automatically. 

Strands of his hair gathered in small clumps from the sweat as Gavin held Nines’ forehead against his. The angle made it all the harder for Gavin to maintain control of his climax and, coupled with the steady strokes of the RK’s grip along his cock, sparks of pleasure blossomed in him with each press that grazed that internal sweet spot. He garbled an “I’m… Nhh…” and Nines knew it meant the man was getting close. 

Aiming his thrusts to deliver as much pressure as possible against his boyfriend’s prostate, Nines whispered into the corner of his lips “I’ve got you baby, come for me.”

The quiet permission was all he needed, and the release overcame Gavin, moaning louder with his quickened breath as small spurts of cum slipped between Nines’ fingers, dripping down onto Gavin’s muscular abdomen. 

Watching the euphoria paint Gavin’s features and the sensation of his body as it clenched with his orgasm was all that Nines needed to be at the tipping point himself. Within just a few more thrusts, he rocked forward one last time and stilled as his own climax pumped into the other man. 

They stayed together in that position for several moments, simply breathing against one another as they rode out their mutual high. Sweat highlighted the flush in Gavin’s face while Nines ran a finger across his cheek before the two traded a chaste but tender kiss to one another’s lips. 

  
  
  



	3. Chapter 3

Their teasing, the punishments and pleading… it was all just part of their game. The playful intertwining of two people who were trying to forget the literal world may come between them soon. When they finally collapsed into the bed, their embrace remained. 

Still completely naked, the two held one another as their breathing returned to normal. Gavin sat up on one elbow after a few minutes, expressionless, just studying his blissed out partner. Just as Nines smiled at him and began to ask if everything was ok, Gavin stated with seriousness, “I love the fuck out of you, do you know that?”

It broadened the android’s expression into a wide grin, the smile evident all the way to his eyes, that this man of his often somehow managed to make even a declaration of love into something uniquely _Gavin._ “I do, sweetheart, and I love you too.”

Gavin tried so hard to stay awake for every moment; but into the early hours of the morning his exhaustion from the stress, the workout, the sex…. it all finally overtook him. Nines held him tightly as the other man’s only movements became the steady breaths and small twitches of slumber. He looked down at his human and smiled again as his fingers pushed some loose strands of hair back from Gavin’s forehead. 

The android was no poet; He was a man of more action than words. And while he studied his sleeping lover now, his background processor cycled through images of engagement rings. As soon as this FBI business was behind them, Nines wanted there to be no doubt to Gavin or anyone else how much this person meant to him. 

The following day, they continued making the most of their time. Breakfast in bed, a walk in the park and later that afternoon, the couple went to the state fair. 

Gavin sucked at the rigged games and told Nines it was cheating to let an android play, so he just grumbled about how he couldn’t win anything and “Was being robbed by these people” while Nines followed him around, smirking. The human gorged on a giant smoked turkey leg and a funnel cake. He almost resurrected both after too many carnival rides back-to-back. 

And then the day after that, they relaxed, talked and shopped for varied attire and items Nines would need for his trip. They anticipated it would be roughly a month before he would be home. He wasn’t sure how often he’d be able to speak with or really communicate at all with Gavin either. It would be a tough few weeks, but for now they really just avoided the topic. 

They relished every minute. Holding hands, playful sweetness and rowdy intimacy. 

The morning Nines was due to leave, he held Gavin in his arms and they swayed to no music at all. Just spending the moment close. “Hey,” the android voiced, breaking the silence. “I want you to promise me something, for while I’m gone.”

“Sure babe, what is it?”

“Take care of yourself. Be careful, and let Connor help keep you safe too.” He paused. “Don’t roll your eyes at me.” 

Nines couldn’t even see his face and Gavin still stopped himself halfway into the action. He snickered softly against the chest of the android that knew him so well. 

Nines continued, “I know, I know, and I agree. You’re capable, smart and strong. But…“ he paused and took an unnecessary sigh. “Protecting you will always be the most important mission in my world. I hate the secrecy part of this. But the very worst part for me is not being here to help keep you safe.”

Gavin nodded, his eyes closed. “I will. I’ll be fine and you’ll be back in a couple weeks and this shit will all be behind us.” 

  
  
When it was finally time for Nines to leave, walking away from Gavin’s embrace felt like he was amputating a part of his body away.

*****

Nines ran a system check as he boarded the small plane headed to Washington DC. He’d be meeting with a team there to brief him on the plans and anything he hadn’t already been sent electronically. His stress levels were at 57% and while he ran the diagnostic when the prompt recommended it for assessing the cause of the stress, he frowned. He knew damn well why he was stressed, and it wasn’t an error in his system. 

This mission he was assisting with was serious. The safety of countless people was possibly on the line, and the repercussions for androids if he failed could be catastrophic. They hadn’t given him all the facts yet, but he had a few suspicions as to why he, specifically, had been sought out, and those concerns weighed heavily on his mind.

Additionally of course, he’d never left the country. He’d never left Detroit. He’d never left Gavin. 

It surprised him, but the last was the most distressing. He wanted to blame it all on concern for the human… he knew his eating habits would falter, sleeping patterns... his work performance might suffer as well. And while those things were factual and did bother him greatly, could he really blame all of his stress and worry on how Gavin would do without him, or would that be lying to himself? What a very human train of thought. 

He frowned again.

As he took his seat on the plane, he emailed a list of relatively easy cooking recipes to Gavin - 43 of them to be specific - and then when he thought more about it, he emailed the links to 28 local restaurants which listed “healthy” and “clean eating” in their descriptions. Hopefully that would tide him over. Next, he sent Gavin’s work schedule over the next month… he was always asking Nines for reminders, maybe it’d be easier for him to know where it was this way. 

He wanted more. More reasons to message Gavin, more ways to show him he wanted him to be fine while he was gone. But none of the options he could come up with were logical or necessary. He huffed when he realized how ridiculous he was being. Gavin was a grown man, he’d managed just fine without Nines for 36 years. 

Instead of acting like the man needed him for survival, Nines accepted the thought that was really the core of the problem. _He_ had never been without Gavin before. 

When he’d been awoken, it had been to Connor, offering his hand to show him what being alive was all about. Like every RK, he was built to investigate, serve and protect and within a few days, he had been working for the DPD. All the while, Connor was a mentor and a guide, helping him immensely when he didn’t know how to navigate the world, the intricacies, the good and bad— Gavin included on the list. He didn’t have the luxury (or the burden) of Connor’s advanced social protocols and largely chose not to develop them himself. 

He learned though, and he adapted and the world got easier to navigate, even if he was still something that could be described as a bit taciturn or aloof. But… as much as Connor and first hand experience had helped him, it was undeniably Gavin who really showed him what _life_ was. 

The man’s offensive nature and Nines’ initially reactive, harsh handling in response were oil and water. Or so he thought. But he’d noticed a thing one day, when he was simply too distracted by something for a case at that moment to retaliate to a biting remark from the man. Gavin seemed disappointed when his snark wasn’t returned. Not surprisingly, Gavin’s next move had been to up the ante, and later the same day he threw a mostly empty coffee cup at Nines over another petty issue and _this_ time, Nines had completely ignored it on purpose. Again Nines noticed, with a greater percentage of certainty, Gavin was more flustered after being ignored than he had been about whatever the issue was to begin with. And not only because he was then left to clean spilled coffee. 

After Nines had ignored 2 more attempts to elicit a reaction, the human was downright mopey and even Hank asked Nines what was happening with Gavin. When he said he’d encountered unexpected behavior from ‘Detective Reed’ as it was back then, and interfaced with Connor to explain, the look of surprised amusement on the 800’s face showed something almost endearing for the human subject of Nines’ confusion. When Connor explained his theory that Gavin was enjoying their little exchanges, even possibly flirting with him, Hank had laughed but agreed and Nines was all the more perplexed. 

So, Nines had continued to experiment with different actions and reactions of this peculiar human. He found himself looking forward to the interactions and at first, he’d dismissed that as investigative curiosity. But eventually he couldn’t deny his own emotions when Gavin would react in ways he did or didn’t expect. And when one day, Gavin was having a particularly bad day and Nines kissed him, he’d genuinely expected to be punched. 

The man had startled, drawing a surprised inhale through his nose, eyes wide as Nines stayed locked in the action. But no punch came. And when Gavin instead melted into the contact, kissing him back like it was all he’d wanted all along, a strange, warm emotion blossomed in the chest of the RK900. 

Nines might have all the programming capable of being digitized for combat, warfare, tactics and military intelligence. He knew, subjectively, 1000 ways to disarm or kill a person and a million ways to survive virtually any situation on earth. He was well aware of how to stay alive. But none of that mattered to him, really, as his reason for life was driving away from the airport right now. There had been no previous doubt that he needed Gavin, _at least_ as much as Gavin needed him, and now actually physically leaving him, well… it was a different type of uncertainty than Nines had ever experienced before. 

He pushed aside his concerns about stuff he couldn’t control, and decided to just send Gavin a more personal message instead. 

‘I just got seated on the plane and already miss you terribly. I’ll reach out again as soon and as often as I can, but as you know, I have no idea when that’ll be. They asked me to disconnect my location and communication capabilities before departing Detroit, so I’ll need to do that now. Please take care of yourself and know that I love you, Gavin. I can’t wait to be back to you soon.’

It didn’t seem like enough, but he sent it anyway. A woman took her seat next to Nines and they exchanged an obligatory small smile. Luckily it’d be a short flight. 

When he arrived at the huge airport in DC, he was met at the gate by two men in identical black suits. They introduced themselves and simply handed him a tablet, asking him to interface with it to confirm his identity before ushering him off to their first meeting of several that would follow over the next day or two. 

By the time he made it to his hotel room for a much needed stasis that evening, everything he’d learned about this case had another emotional first creeping into the android: Doubt. It coiled like a snake hissing phantom sparks and an odor of melting plastic in his mind. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	4. Chapter 4

The first week passed with no news or communication at all and Gavin moped in full on pity-party mode for days. Yeah he’d grown as a man and all that, but even he could tell how insufferable he was being to everyone around him. 

As the second week rolled around, he decidedly buried all of his attention into work. He poured himself into long days of obsessive detail. 

When Captain Fowler started insisting he go home for at least 10 hours a day, he poured himself instead into the bottom of a beer bottle as soon as he walked in the door. 

He wasn’t trying to be unable to functioning or anything, he wasn’t getting plastered and blacking out. He might have honestly, but what if _this_ was the night that Nines would call? His phone was absolutely never out of reach. Any notification buzz or beep had him grabbing it like a life-line. Surely this time it would be word from the man he missed so much. 

He fell in the shower one night when he heard someone calling and scrambled to get to his phone on the nearby counter top. Poor Tina got an earful of undeserved curses as Gavin answered her call. After the pain in his knee subsided and he loathed how pathetic he was— sitting dripping wet, naked and sore on the toilet seat— he called her back to apologize. 

The drinking though, in his mind it helped, as much as drinking “helps” anyone, that is. He may not want to be incapacitated, but he also didn’t exactly want to function at full cognizance. Too much awareness reminded him that he was the loneliest he’d ever been. It was funny how you could be single and alone for what felt like forever but not really _feel_ so alone until you’d gotten used to having someone there with you; For you. And then when that person was suddenly gone, the void was a vacuum space. 

It also didn’t help that people kept asking him if he’d heard anything from Nines. There would be snippets of conversation he would overhear, mostly others speculating about what cool things the android must be doing now and then. Feeling like he’d been left behind while Agent 009 was out saving the world was a punch that broke right through the loneliness to land a black eye to his pride, too. 

God bless Tina. She was his best friend on the department, they’d known each other since their academy days and she tried to be supportive by coming over some nights to just hang out. He’d vent and wallow and she’d just sit there and listen. She had to forgive him for being an ass occasionally, knowing it was just how he handled stress. Her efforts were all anyone could have done. 

When Gavin realized a full month had passed, still without a single word from or about his boyfriend, fear officially took up residence in his gut. Nines was tough. Physically, he was almost literally indestructible and being the most advanced android model ever created, he was smart in terms of processing ability as well as his life experience. If anyone was capable of making it into or out of any situation on earth, it was the RK900. 

But that didn’t stop Gavin from constantly wondering where and how his android was. If something catastrophic happened, would he even know? The laws regarding notification of next of kin in the event of an injured or killed android were still washy even within the civilian sector. Would the government give a shit or just send the DPD a fucking check if something happened to Nines?

The only silver lining he had to cling to was that surely, hopefully, the length of time passing must mean Nines would come home soon. He had to be. Right? 

  
  


Connor and Hank could see the strain on Gavin. In fairness, it was impossible to miss. Dark circles hung underneath his eyes constantly and the liquid diet of caffeine and alcohol had cost him a fair bit of weight. The other android + human pair put some of their workload to the side to assist him regularly with the Dixon case. He didn’t even know where to begin with thanking them. 

Even if Nines was the ’best android’ ever created, Connor was the best person ever made. Nines had looked to Connor for advice often when he was new to deviancy and in the beginning, when Nines was assigned to the irate detective, Connor had worried. 

Back then, Gavin had a bad reputation with everyone and an even worse history with Connor. As big and tough as 900 appeared, he was vulnerable in that time. Emotions were new and the offenses of a reckless and unkind partner could damage Nines’ fundamental understanding of life and what it could offer. But as the months passed and Gavin’s relationship with Nines had grown, Connor had watched the human change. 

Nines took no shit from the shorter man. He was determined and never backed down from him. At least once, everyone was sure Gavin wore makeup around his throat to cover marks there. Connor insisted on an interface that day to confirm it was deserved. As it turns out, Nines had actually shown impressive restraint. He always gave the human exactly what was deserved... But he also never gave up or left; and that seemed to be something Gavin hadn’t expected someone to ever do.

The quarrelsome man’s fear of the machine became respect. And as the detective further applied himself to his work to spite his new partner, a mutual admiration evolved. From that came mutual enjoyment of each other’s abrasive quirks and finally, eventually, a comfort in each other’s company. 

Connor observed all of this, from across the precinct and through his interfaces with the android he considered a little brother. He watched them grow as a unit and when Nines recently asked him his thoughts on marriage, Connor was so happy for them both that he thought his processors may short out. 

It was hard watching Gavin struggle with the absence now. Even the 800 had no way of communicating with Nines as all contact and location transmission had been shut off when he’d left Detroit. Before leaving though, Nines had asked him to watch over the man he loved. Connor took the task seriously, and helping the other detective with his case was the least he could do. 

And whatever Connor found important, Hank did too. 

  
  


Soon enough, the added manpower to Gavin’s case paid off - they found hard evidence linking Dixon to his last murder victim. It was huge, and for the first time in what no one wanted to acknowledge was coming up on two months now, Gavin had something to be happy about. 

Captain Allen and the SWAT team were called in to assist with the arrest. As soon as Allen saw Gavin, he looked the detective up and down. With an expression of distaste, he voiced, “Jesus, Reed, you look like shit.” It was the first time anyone had really pointed it out. It wasn’t like Gavin wasn’t aware but in truth, he’d mostly just been avoiding the mirror. 

He shrugged at the Captain’s remark, “Yeah, whatever. Rough couple ~~weeks~~ months.”

Allen took a sip of his coffee before his eyebrows went up, memory jogged. “Oh shit, that’s right…tall, dark and creepy is still gone, huh?” Gavin scowled at the other man and just turned around. He could hear Allen jeer to one of the guys on his team as he walked away, “Right back to being good ‘ol Reed”. 

He thought to himself ‘The good ‘ol me would’ve decked your smug ass’, but as a testament to his more newly developed self-control, he said nothing and kept walking. The group were awaiting Hank and Connor to arrive before they headed toward where Dixon was known to be hiding out. Once all were present, they held yet another meeting to review everything for the 10th time.

When they stormed the murderer's house a couple hours later, the man must’ve been tipped off about them closing in on him. He was ready for them. A couple of Allen’s guys got shot but thankfully nothing serious, body armor has come a long way. 

After a brief firefight, Dixon attempted to run out the back door. Gavin tackled him, catching him just as he breached the doorway. The man grasped a knife and delivered a good gash to Gavin’s side before Connor easily flattened the felony suspect against the sidewalk. The cut hurt like a bitch, he’d need some stitches, but he’d be fine. Most importantly, the bastard was in custody and he would finally answer for his crimes. 

Gavin was on a victory high (plus some residual adrenaline) seeing Dixon _finally_ be driven away in the back of a cruiser. Too many months had been spent tracking this fucker down. Still… As Gavin waved a cynical goodbye to the criminal being taken away, his thoughts went to his absent partner— Nines should have been here. This was his case too, and he’d been instrumental in the beginning. He stared at the road long after the cruiser was gone, hand subconsciously covering the wound on his side.

Hank stepped up beside him, laying a hand on his shoulder. “Good work, kid,” he praised. And like he could read Gavin’s mind, “I’m sorry Nines isn’t here to enjoy this feeling with us.” 

Offering a small but genuine smile, Gavin turned toward the older man. “Thanks Hank, for everything. I couldn’t have done this without you and Connor.” 

Hank nodded, “How about we go get you patched up and then all go celebrate this properly, huh?” 

Connor and the evidence team was still sweeping Dixon’s place. Gavin insisted he didn’t need company, so Hank just dropped him off at the hospital and returned to the DPD to help get the paperwork and processing part of the big arrest started. Some stitches and a while on antibiotics and he’d be good as new. A fresh scar with a cool story to add to the collection that already decorated his body was something Gavin held as a weird point of pride. He knew Nines would stress over the injury, but couldn’t wait to tell him the story.

It was a bit lonely waiting for the doctors to finish. Hospitals were stressful for everyone, even reckless cops who’d been in them more times than he cared to recall. Luckily though, this was nothing serious and Gavin sucked it up. He texted Hank when he was done and Connor showed up in Hank’s old car shortly thereafter. 

The evening had worn on later than expected though, and the piles of paperwork and reports still needed his attention. Catching Dixon was the first hurdle; keeping him behind bars took paperwork. They decided on a rain check for the celebration part and got back to work. 

It was a good thing probably, because he didn’t sleep well that night as it was. Every time he tried to get comfortable, the tear in his side would remind him of its presence and the pain pills weren’t supposed to be mixed with alcohol.

The following morning added to the reasons he was thankful they hadn’t partied hard that night. As soon as he parked his Jeep and walked toward the DPD building, he was greeted by news reporters and interview requests. He’d been a cop long enough to know not to say shit until the words were given the ok by Fowler.   
  
After their early morning meeting though, the captain and he both gave televised interviews and answered questions about the case. Most things weren’t able to be discussed yet, but Gavin stood proudly in the uniform he hardly ever wore anymore and divulged what he could in front of the cameras and fuzzy microphones.   
  
Snippets of the case and his interview were all over the news that day. Several officers patted him on the back, others playfully poked fun at him, and it was all part of one of the rare high points of the job: recognition for their hard work. It was always brief, the news crews would be on to the very next thing right away. But every cop enjoys their 30 seconds of fame while it lasts.

It was the following day before the bustle of it all died down and the colleagues decided to cash in on that celebratory rain check. Hank, Connor, Gavin and by default, Tina, all met up at their favorite bar. The food was average but the prices were good and the atmosphere was always just right. 

Celebrated in full, the successes of the previous days melted into drunken camaraderie. The humans all had a bit more than they should’ve, but Connor was the ever-diligent guardian and kept them each in line. At least for these few hours, Gavin was successfully happy. 

Not long before 2am, Tina’s boyfriend, Darren, texted from home that he wasn’t feeling well. It was about time to call it a night anyway, so she ordered a cab for herself and after downing the last of her drink, she looked straight to Gavin. “Promise me you’ll text when you get home?”

”Yes, dear,” he assured. He always gave her shit, but secretly he appreciated the concern. 

Connor offered to drive for the other two men and in no time, Hank fell asleep in the passenger seat as Gavin stared out his window. His alcohol-glazed expression betrayed his underlying sadness. 

“Hey,” Connor caught his attention and they glanced at one another through the rear view mirror. “Nines would be proud of you, Gavin. He will be.” 

Sighing as he looked back out the window to the passing city, he hoped the android was right. “Thanks, Connor.” 

Gavin stumbled into his empty apartment and slouched against the door as he closed it behind himself. He felt a bit nauseous but he could ignore it, and grabbing a bottle of water he downed half of it and headed to the shower. 

A short time later, he slid like an otter into his bed and laid out flat on his face. He flailed his hand outstretched for a moment before finding and dragging his favorite pillow to himself… it was easier than dragging his whole self to it. Yawning, he situated his head into the just-right comfortable spot. His side still hurt, but more a dull pain now than the sharp intensity of the first day. 

When his phone rang twenty minutes later, he groaned. He’d forgotten to text Tina. He grumbled as he scooted toward it and answered without looking, his voice full of the slurred gravel of sleepiness and liquor “Yeah, I’m home and fine. Sorry I forgot to text.”

“Gavin...?” The familiar voice definitely wasn’t Tina, and Gavin shot upright in bed.

“Nines?!?!”


	5. Chapter 5

  
Gavin could hardly believe his ears. He shook his head, willing the drunken haze forcibly from his brain. 

“Yes, hey. I’ll be getting in... Uh, home… tomorrow. Could you pick me up from the airport at 10:30am?” 

It took a moment for Gavin to recover from the elation of hearing the other voice to even understand what was actually said. He whispered out in a rush of words, more a statement of disbelieve than an actual question, “You’re finally coming home?”

The android confirmed simply, “Yes.” And then after a brief pause, “Will you be able to pick me up?”

His mind exploded in every direction as the excitement could hardly be contained there. His whole body began trembling lightly with anticipation. “Of course I’ll pick you up! Are you ok? Babe I can’t even think straight I’m so excited to see you!” He started to stammer as he spoke, “I- I can’t believe I’m finally hearing your voice!” 

Nines’ inflection was flat and he seemed in a hurry to go. “Great, yeah me too, see you then.” The android hung up. 

The phone felt strange in his hand as Gavin stared, gawking at the device. What the fuck just happened? Did he imagine the call, drunker than he thought maybe? He clicked on the call log and a number he didn’t recognize had indeed just had a 8 second conversation with him. _Conversation_? That was a stretch. He still stared down at the phone, processing the whole thing. 

Wherever Nines was, it must still be busy or dangerous, he seemed so hurried and unable to say much. Gavin realized he also never said whether he was ok. He sounded almost... annoyed? His heart sank. All this time he'd spent just waiting to hear that voice, the cool and soothing, silky tone of the man he loved. He expected to be happy, for the sound to be music to his ears and instead, his stomach was in knots. 

Nausea suddenly gripped him in full. Gavin ran to the bathroom, accidentally ramming his shoulder into the doorframe on the way. It caused a strong twist of his injured side and he let out a sharp cry from the pain before practically falling in front of the toilet as the worry, ache, alcohol and excitement erupted from his system. Vomiting with stitches in your rib cage— not to mention ones that’ve been recently offended by a collision into a solid surface— is a whole new level of suck. 

  
  


He wasn’t sure how, but he managed to drag himself back to bed and nod off for a couple hours. By 6am though, Gavin was wide awake with his head pounding and bubbles gurgling uncomfortably in his stomach. After forcing himself to eat a piece of bread, he opted for water rather than coffee and downed a couple Tylenol. Nervous anticipation had his leg and most of the rest of him bouncing up and down. 

Pacing the small apartment space, he ran his fingers through his hair and wondered what he could do to prepare for Nines’ return. He began cleaning the place like it hadn’t seen since the other man’s departure. Dusting, laundry, he scrubbed the bathroom thoroughly and took out the trash... It was mostly empty beer bottles. He didn’t want there to be any evidence of how poorly he’d handled these past several weeks. 

Once 7:30 rolled around and he knew Connor would be up from stasis, he called him to break the incredible news. “Connor, guess what?!” Gavin was giddy with excitement, “He’s coming back! Nines is on his way back to Detroit!” It felt like some of the pressure on his brain had been relieved just to share the news with someone else. 

“Really? That’s incredible! How soon will he be back?” 

“Today. I pick him up from the airport in 3 hours.” Gavin sounded so uncharacteristically happy from where he had been for the past 2 months (or, in fairness, for Gavin in general), it was a startling contrast. 

Relief washed over Connor. He hadn’t wanted to voice anything to Gavin or anyone else, but the length of time his brother had been absent was starting to deeply concern him. “Detective Reed, that’s incredible news. Did he call you this morning?”

As glad as he was, the 800 was a bit surprised that Nines hadn’t taken the .02 seconds it would have required to shoot him a quick text while calling Gavin. Figuring the same was true from his end as well though, Connor messaged Nines internally right then. ‘ _Just heard the great news from Gavin, he’s adorably excited. I can’t wait to see you too, welcome home!’_

Returning to the external conversation, Gavin was answering him, “Uh, last night actually. It was pretty late and I didn’t want to bother you.” The man had that jittery energy of a three year old who’d found a year’s supply of Pixie Sticks.

“It would have been fine, I know finally being able to speak with him must have kept you two up all night though. You should try to rest before driving, Gavin.” There was a pause from the human like he wasn’t sure what to say. Connor offered, “Do you need me to tell Fowler you’ll be coming in late, if at all? I’m sure the time off won’t be disputed.” 

Gavin hadn’t even thought about work, he was supposed to go in today. “Fuck, yeah if you could. That’d be great, Connor, thanks.”

“Of course, Detective, gladly.” He realized right then that his message to Nines had been undeliverable and when he immediately tried to pinpoint the other android’s location, that was also unavailable. All of his internal communication avenues must still be deactivated. Strange. Connor shrugged it off though, it was probably nothing. “Will you let me know when he arrives?”

“Yeah, I’m sure he’ll be excited to see you too. I’ll bring him by the precinct later.”

“Perfect.” Connor couldn’t help the bit of sarcasm that etched his words, “You two have fun, uh, _catching up_!” 

Gavin rolled his eyes “Yeah, yeah. Thanks again, Con, see ya.” 

He wouldn’t say it out loud, but Gavin was absolutely looking forward to “catching up” with his boyfriend, in every way. In the interim though, he continued his feverish cleaning and readied the simple apartment to be as presentable as he could. 

Next, he showered, shaved and got _himself_ presentable... or he tried to, anyway. He stared into the bathroom mirror and voiced to himself, ‘Man, you really do look like shit.’ He’d never been under any delusion that he was a good looking man, the large scar framing the bridge of his nose was the nail in that coffin. But natural appeal or lack thereof aside, right now, his gaunt appearance would have fit in with many of the alcoholics and drug addicts he’d arrested over the years. 

Giving a self-depreciating shrug, he accepted that he couldn’t recover 20lbs of weight loss and a couple months of sleep within the next two hours. Deciding he couldn’t stall at home any longer, he grabbed his keys and made for the door. After picking at some drive-through breakfast, he parked in the short term lot and made his way to the baggage claim area. He was still very early, but suddenly realized he had no idea what location of origin or flight number Nines was to arrive from. He dug for his phone and sent a text to Nines’ internal comm system to ask what gate to greet him at. When no reply came after several moments, he just found a spot that offered the best vantage point and waited.

*****

  
  


Seeing the tall android within the crowd of people making their way toward the baggage claim made Gavin’s heart skip several beats. Somehow it was like seeing him for the first time all over again (only this time he wasn’t afraid of him). He’d forgotten how incredibly handsome the man was. Gavin swallowed the lump in his throat and as Nine’s piercing blue eyes met his grey-hazel ones, both men smiled brightly. 

Trying not to look like the hopeless idiot he was, Gavin remained seated as Nines made his way toward him through the group of other passengers. As he finally was close enough for it to not be weird, the human stood with a sheepish but ecstatic, “Hey, babe!” The android brought him in to a bear hug and Gavin thought he may melt into the tall shoulder he buried his face into. He inhaled deeply and let out a sigh through his nose that took another 10lbs of stress from his mind. His friend, his lover, his partner was finally home. 

Nines released the hug sooner than Gavin wanted— a week would’ve been too soon, in fairness— and held him by the shoulders, out at arm's length. He studied him from head to toe, likely scanning him. Nines looked surprised, “Have you lost weight? Like, quite a bit of it?” 

Rubbing the back of his neck with one hand, Gavin avoided eye contact. “Uh, I’m not sure. I kinda… it’s been rough,” he finally admitted with a small chuckle that quickly became a frown. 

“I’m so sorry, Gavin,” Nines replied. “I know it’s been longer than we’d hoped.” He looked up at the baggage terminals to locate the correct one. “Come on, let’s get this stuff and head home.” 

The shorter man nodded with a soft smile, “Yeah, I’ve been looking forward to hearing those words.” He looked better already, just having his partner back by his side. 

After retrieving the plain black suitcase from the metal belt and getting situated in the Jeep, the two headed toward the apartment. Once they were clear of the erratic airport traffic, Gavin could no longer contain the questions he’d been biting back since Nines’ phone call last night. “So, uh, where have you been? Are you finally done with the FBI’s shit?” 

The android frowned. “Unfortunately no, I’m still assisting them. And I still can’t tell you where I’ve been.” 

“Oh. Guess I was just hoping it’d all be fixed and you could talk about it now.” Unable to hide some worry in his voice, Gavin then asked, “So are you gonna have to go back?”

“No, I don’t think that will be necessary.” 

There wasn’t any real comfort in Nine’s voice though and Gavin wasn’t sure how convinced he was as he mulled over the words for a while. “So… can you tell me, like, anything? Like, were you able to help them, or do you think this shit will be over soon?” 

His partner seemed annoyed with the questions and Gavin immediately felt bad for prying. How much secrecy could a cop take, though? 

Nines pursed his lips and confirmed again, flatly, “No, Gavin, I can’t tell you anything. Please stop asking.” 

The human’s shoulders sank. “Sorry. I just…” his eyes wandered the road as he shifted in his seat. “I was hoping to know it was worth all the bullshit, you know?” He chuckled, trying to ease the tension. 

“I’m sure it will indeed be worth all of the bullshit _”_ , Nines replied as he side-eyed his partner and whipped the last word out with a bit of bite to it. 

The last thing Gavin wanted was to irritate the RK. This was supposed to be a “Welcome Home!”, not an interrogation, and the human kicked himself for pushing things. “I’ve just missed you is all. Sorry.” He bit at his lower lip as Nines stared forward silently. Subconsciously trying to change the weight of the environment, Gavin tapped his fingers along the steering wheel to the song playing at low volume on the radio. 

Suddenly he remembered, “Oh! I told Connor you were coming home, he’s excited to see you too! I told him I’d bring you by the precinct today actually, wanna go there first?” It would be closer than the apartment from where they were now. 

“No, maybe later,” the android replied. He added after a brief moment, “I’d like to just get home for a while first and relax if that’s ok?”

Gavin smiled at him, “Yeah, of course!” 

  
  


When they entered the apartment, Nines set his suitcase inside the door and looked around, taking the place in. Gavin walked up beside him and nudged his shoulder, “Bet it’s good to be home, huh babe?” He took the suitcase from the taller man and headed toward the bedroom with it. 

When Nines walked up behind him, Gavin half expected to be playfully grabbed. He’d hardly consider his boyfriend ‘handsy’, but walking up to hold Gavin from behind was a common Nines move, and being groped from behind was something the human had sorely missed these past couple months. No contact came however, and he turned to find the other man simply looking blankly down at the bed. Gavin asked gently, “Everything ok?

“Hmm? Oh, yes, everything is fine.” Nines turned and walked right back out of the bedroom and as Gavin watched him leave, he couldn’t quite place the feeling in his heart. Nines didn’t seem like himself. So far apart though and so much work, travel and who knows what had transpired these last several weeks, he had no idea what his boyfriend could have been through. It hurt not to know. 

As Nines disappeared around the corner toward the kitchen, it occurred to Gavin that there may be answers he wasn’t supposed to see in the suitcase he was now alone with. A decision divided him. Half of him wanted to be a respectful, trustworthy partner and the other half wanted to do what his personality and career strove for: investigate. 

It wasn’t like Nines _wanted_ to keep this stuff from him though, right? Hell, maybe he even left him with the suitcase on purpose! The FBI couldn’t check his audio or visual feed for something that wasn’t there. Gavin quietly slid the suitcase onto the bed and began to unzip it. Opening it silently, Nines’ perfectly folded shirts blanketed the top of the main compartment. As Gavin reached to remove the first layer however, a hand grasped his bicep hard enough that he yelped in surprise and a jolt of pain. He was spun around and flung the short distance against the side wall of the bedroom before he could even react, colliding with it hard enough to bring a dizzying wave as the air was knocked out of his lungs. Luckily, at least he hit the opposite side from where his stitches were. 

He looked up as he wheezed a pained breath to see Nines, nostrils flared and furious. The android growled at him through gritted teeth, “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” 

Gavin was speechless. He’d pushed Nines before, back when they first met. And twice, it had been enough to earn a physical reaction from him. But that was punishment for being a brat and exceeding the android’s respectable tolerance, those reactions were cool and calculated. This was different, he’d never seen him _angry_ like this, certainly not directed at him, never. “I… l… “ he stammered, unable to supply coherent thought. 

“You what? You think it’s ok to just go through my things behind my back?” The RK stood squared up to him, like he was ready to take things even further if necessary. 

For the briefest flash, Gavin saw his father, instead of his lover, standing before him: ready to deliver another blow. Gavin’s eyes rounded but he stayed on his feet as his back remained glued against the bedroom wall. “I.. I’m sorry Nines… I didn’t think…”

Cutting him off, the android voiced, “Exactly. You didn’t think.” He seemed to force himself to calm somewhat and turning away from Gavin, he slammed the lid to the suitcase down. As he zipped it back up, he shot an angry look to the other man and hissed, “Do not _snoop around_ for things you can’t understand.” The RK picked the suitcase up off the bed and set it beside the dresser with a huff. He straightened up, lifting his chin and smoothed his shirt down to collect his appearance. 

Gavin still remained pressed against the wall, completely still and silent. When Nines looked to him as though he expected a response, the human simply averted eye contact, looking toward the floor. His mouth opened slightly like he wanted to speak, but he couldn’t find the words. After wetting his lips, he closed them again and pushed himself away from the wall to stand unassisted. 

He glanced quickly at the clock on his nightstand, it was almost Noon. Clearly, he’d pushed things further than he should’ve and Nines needed space. Without looking at his partner again, he moved to leave the room. “Uhh, I’m.. I’m gonna go into work for a bit, there’s some case stuff I need to get to.” He paused just as he crossed the threshold and half-turned back to mention, “We caught Dixon, by the way.” He waited only another breath before continuing toward the door. 

Nines said nothing as Gavin grabbed his phone and keys and walked out of the apartment. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’d like to formally apologize in advance, as we enter the “Hurt” part of this Hurt/Comfort fic 😔


	6. Chapter 6

Gavin pulled into the DPD’s garage parking space and killed the engine. He remained sitting in the Jeep, staring off into space toward the concrete wall in front of him. Without thinking about it, he began rubbing at his bicep where Nines had grabbed him, it was sore, and would definitely bruise. His opposite shoulder and back were tender too, from where he’d collided with the wall. 

He shouldn’t have touched the suitcase, he thought to himself. It was a breach of Nines’ privacy, he knew it was wrong before he even did it. He just got the man back and he was already fucking things up.

He struggled with how he should apologize. 

His old therapist crossed his mind just then, he hadn’t been to see her in years... Since around the time Nines came along, ironically. But she would probably tell him _he_ wasn’t the one who should be apologizing. The fundamental principle she was always trying to drive home was that no one had the right to get physically violent, unless they were directly defending themselves. Ever. That abuse was no one's fault but the abuser. 

She was very good and had helped him through a lot of the issues he had with his father, growing up with that belittling ass hole. It was hard being the fuck-up, living in the shadow of his half-brother’s glowing brilliance and success. Speaking of his brother, he hadn’t talked to him in years either. The therapist’s insistence that he keep journals had also helped and Gavin had novels worth of them documenting most of his life, and his feelings about it, tucked away in a box in storage. He appreciated that woman more than he’d ever let on. 

But she hadn’t lived with Gavin, he reminded himself, she didn’t know how he could be from that perspective. Old habits died hard and he knew that he picked and he pushed until others snapped. He forced people to hurt him or leave him or both. He couldn’t blame people for how they dealt with him. 

Clamping his eyes shut to the self-loathing thoughts, he vigorously rubbed both of his hands up and down his face with a frustrated grunt. No. That wasn’t his life now, that wasn’t Nines and he had to stop thinking like this. Whatever this was, it was just temporary. He’d make it right and it would be fine. 

A sudden knock at the driver’s side window had him about jumping out of his skin. Tina laughed initially at his dramatic reaction before her expression quickly shifted to genuine concern. “Are you ok?,” she asked, her voice muffled by the walls of the vehicle. 

Opening the door, he replied, “Yeah... yeah of course, you just startled me.” He shook his head to clear it and forced a smile at her. 

“O...k,” she didn’t seem terribly convinced. She eyed him over for a moment but her typical chipper happiness returned quickly and she bounced on the balls of her feet while he exited and locked his Jeep. “So….?,” she asked with excitement and a big grin. 

“So, what?” He looked at her with confusion.

Tina rolled her eyes at him. “Nines! How is he? Connor said he’s back, you must be so excited!” 

“Oh,”... yeah, _oh_ ... “Um, yeah he’s at home.” Realizing exactly how un-excited he sounded, he hurried to clarify, “He’s good. He seems tired… like, I know android’s can’t really get _tired_ , but I think he just needs to relax and unwind from the trip.” He said it to convince himself as much as to Tina. 

“Yeah, I’m sure whatever they had him doing wasn’t easy. I bet he’s so much happier finally being home with his lover boy though.” She smirked as she playfully punched his shoulder. Already mid-turn, she completely missed the wince of pain it caused. 

The two walked into the precinct together as Gavin changed the subject to ask Tina how her boyfriend was when she got home last night. Apparently he’d overdone the spice for his Thai dinner and had been literally sweating the consequences. She chatted on but after a while, his mind was elsewhere and it became background noise. He kinda heard her say she was off to work on something so he waved an absent-minded goodbye. 

Sitting down to his desk, Gavin tried to do what had gotten him through the past two months: bury the stress under a shitload of hard work. The Dixon case still required paperwork attention and some new cases had been assigned to him that morning too. 

As he shuffled through files and started surveying evidence, Gavin caught someone heading toward him in his peripheral vision. He looked up to see a cheerful Connor making his way straight to him, he and Hank must’ve just returned from lunch. 

‘ _Fuck_ ,’ he thought to himself. Connor was literally designed to sniff out bullshit and he didn’t want to give off the impression that things were anything other than sugar and rainbows at home. He could NOT let on that the other RK was acting strange. Connor would worry and it would further pressure Nines and things would be even worse. The travel-weary man just needed some time to settle back in, that’s all. Gavin put on the most convincing smile he could as the RK800 approached. “Hey, Connor!” he greeted with faux happiness. 

“Hello, Detective Reed!” He cocked his head to the side, seeing no sign of the other android. “Was Nines unable to join you?“ He looked a bit surprised not to see his brother with Gavin. 

Maintaining his positive front, Gavin held eye contact and the fake warm smile. “He was. It sounds like he still has a lot to do with the FBI case I guess, it’s not all over and done yet.” 

“Oh? I’m sure that has to be frustrating for you both.”

“Yeah. He seems fine though... Just still has a lot to do.”

Connor nodded as he thought. “Hmm,” he finally hummed out quickly, “That must be why I couldn’t reach him internally.” He pursed his lips and nodded as he was surely analyzing options. “Well, hopefully they’ll get it sorted out quickly, I know you’re eager to have him back as your partner here... as well as back to normal at home.” Connor winked at him as he spoke the last couple of words. 

“Ugh,” Gavin chided, “...pervert.” He balled up a piece of scrap paper from his desk and threw it at him as he was turning to step away. 

Connor faced him as he continued walking backwards and winked again, just to further harass the man. Gavin scowled, no real emotion behind it and rotated back to his computer screen.

‘Fuckin’ nailed it’, he celebrated his acting performance in his head.

‘Why on earth was he lying?’ Connor wondered as he continued toward his own desk. 

  
  


Gavin didn’t hear from Nines all day. Hank and Connor were out on a case so he was largely undisturbed for the afternoon. Opting not to tell Fowler anything about Nines being home, he figured he’d just stick entirely to things that were his own business. He interviewed a witness, made a plan with one of his new cases and felt like the afternoon was an overall success.

Returning home, he found Nines sitting on the couch staring forward blankly. If he was a human, it would’ve been weird. But since androids do pretty much everything a supercomputer can do in their head, it was no different than coming home to anyone else in front of a laptop. Forcing a bit of confidence but steeling himself for the worst, Gavin smiled at his boyfriend. “Hey, babe.” 

The android blinked a few times, clearing the work he’d been engaged in from his focus, and then looked over at him. “Gavin, hey…” he offered a small frown and shake of his head. “I owe you an apology, Gavin.” 

Nines stood and walked toward the shorter man. Cupping Gavin’s face in his hands, he stared into his eyes. “I overreacted earlier, and I hurt you. It wasn’t my intention, I don’t know what came over me. I’m sorry.” 

Fuck if anything could break right through Gavin’s defenses, it was that shit. “That’s ok. I- I know I shouldn't have touched your stuff.”

“You shouldn’t have.” He was stern for a moment before his expression softened into mild remorse and he continued, “... But there was still no excuse for my behavior.” Nines kissed him, and Gavin realized it was the first time they’d kissed since his boyfriend had left over two months ago. The android’s lips were like a potion to him and he melted into the kiss, completely forgetting his fear of the man from just a few hours ago. 

His fingers went to the buttons of Nines’ shirt. “Make it up to me?” he asked as he began freeing the topmost small pearlescent disc from its fabric housing. 

Hands clasped gently over his to stop them however. “Unfortunately,” the android began, disappointment evident in his face, “not yet. I have to go meet with the new handler I’ve been assigned shortly.” 

Gavin couldn’t contain his frustrated huff. “It’s like 8pm!” 

“I know. Hopefully this won’t take long. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He planted another kiss to Gavin’s lips. “I’ll make it up to you when I get back though, promise. Ok?”

He frowned, but the last thing he wanted to do was push the situation again. “Yeah, I understand. Just hurry home, ok?”

“Of course.” With a final peck to the lips, Nines headed out. Gavin watched him from the living room window as a dark SUV picked him up in the apartment’s parking lot. He couldn’t see the license plate but slapped himself mentally for even trying to. 

Again with the shit that was none of his business. 

He slumped into the couch and watched whatever was on TV for a while. Eventually bored with that, he finished a mediocre book. 10pm came and left, then 11pm. He cracked a second beer. As it neared Midnight, Gavin sent a text to Nines. _‘Hope everything is ok?’_ Since texts are received quite literally directly to an android’s consciousness, and volumes of thought can be conveyed into type within the blink of an eye, Nines usually texted him back within two seconds at most. And that much delay was usually the fault of Gavin’s phone or network.

No reply came however and close to 1am and five beers into a small buzz, Gavin crawled into bed alone. Staring at the ceiling fan, trapped in its perpetual revolution, he tried to just not think too hard about everything. He rolled to his side with a low groan. The suitcase still sat beside the dresser, though it had been shifted and whatever sensitive information had likely been removed. Gavin narrowed his eyes at it, as though the inanimate object itself was to blame for the earlier offense. 

There was no chance in hell of him touching it. 

Eventually, hardened to the ache of loneliness and worry after many weeks of it, he fell asleep. 

  
  



	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tags have been updated for this chapter, please heed them and let me know if I should add any others!

When his alarm went off at 6:45am, he still lay alone. He set about with the solitary morning routine that had become familiar by now. Coffee, shower, etc and then off to work.

He texted Nines again as he walked to the Jeep. Not that he expected a reply at this point but it still felt like the right thing to do. “ _Hey babe, I’m worried. I’m headed in to work, please let me know if everything is ok?”_ And then after a few steps, he added, “ _I love you”_ before pocketing his phone for the drive. 

Despite his efforts, he just couldn’t bury his mind from the nagging concerns. He checked his phone what felt like every twelve seconds, hoping surely Nines would reach out. Chris Smith stopped by, but Gavin grew tired of whatever he rambled on about and snapped at him to let him get back to work. 

Around 11am, he lost the internal struggle that it may be inappropriate to call the number Nines had reached out to him from, the night he called to say he was coming home. It rang once and then a mechanical voice relayed that it was a disconnected number. Frustrated, he texted Nines once more, “ _I’m starting to really freak out. Please just tell me that you’re ok at least?”_ He stared at the phone, dropping it to his desk with an audible “ugh” when after a few seconds, as he’d expected, there wasn’t a response. 

He flinched when he realized his fidgeting and irritability had caught Connor’s attention. Like a magnet to his anxiety, the RK800 made his way beside his desk. “Good morning, Detective Reed. I don’t even need to scan your system to see that your stress levels are surprisingly high. Is everything ok?” 

Gavin grit his teeth, acting wouldn’t save him this time. “Yeah, Connor, just didn’t sleep great last night.” It was a partial truth, at least. Maybe Connor would infer something and go away. He should’ve known better.

“Is everything alright with the RK900?” 

A smarter man would’ve told Connor everything. All of the weirdness, the strange reactions, and the fact that Nines was, effectively, missing. Gavin is not that man. “Everything’s fine. He’s at some meeting with the FBI. It sounds like they still have a bunch of shit to do.” He hardly looked up from the computer terminal as he spoke. 

Connor retrieved his coin from his pocket and began moving it along its familiar path. He took a long sigh, an action that for an adroid, serves exclusively to convey emotion. “I feel like there may be some concerns you’re not voicing, Detective Reed.” 

It didn’t take much to annoy Gavin when he was already on edge. He snapped back, “Everything is great, Connor, he’s just still busy with shit.”

The android knew when progress with this man ended and pushing further would get him nowhere. “Very well, Gavin. I hope you’re free of the stress soon. I’d suggest less caffeine, as a start.” Simply throwing up a hand to express his disinterest and wave his friend off, Gavin remained willfully focused on his terminal. 

As Connor left the detective to his irritability, he messaged Nines right away. “ _We need to talk, brother. Gavin is stressed and hiding things. I don’t understand what’s happening, but I know something is wrong. I wish only to help, in any way I can. Please let me help you both.”_

Gavin spent the rest of the day wound tightly, tapping his leg up and down and he rubbed often at the scar on the bridge of his nose. It was weird how he somewhat accepted the silence and mystery when Nines was probably on the other side of the globe, but not knowing where he was now, close to home, was tearing him apart. If a solid tip for one of his new cases hadn’t come in just after lunch, he would’ve gone home early. But someone had seen a potential murder suspect at a bar last night, and it was important to follow up with that stuff ASAP. He embraced the distraction and followed through with visiting the bar, putting in a request for surveillance tapes and getting the bartender to come in for questioning.

It ended up being a full day— a thing he could appreciate as a productive and occasionally sufficient distraction from the worry.

When he finally arrived home, he absolutely did not expect to find Nines there, cooking a goddamned chicken casserole like everything was fine. 

Gavin stood in the living room, gobsmacked. Nines looked up at him across the counter top that divided the rooms and just smiled at him. An odd realization occurred to Gavin suddenly: The android’s smile was identical each time recently. Like, not the familiarity of anyone’s unique smile… this was the exact same mechanical muscle configuration each time. It was akin to someone holding a photograph of themselves smiling up in front of their otherwise expressionless face. 

The fact that he was here and smiling at all however... it caused that swell of internal conflict that happens when you’ve been dreading that someone was lying dead somewhere… and then they just stroll in without a care in the world. The ensuing wall of emotion, it hit him hard. “What the fuck?!” Gavin practically shouted. It surprised even himself, but he was unable to bite his tongue. 

“Pardon me?” Nines replied, programmed smile wiped immediately from his face. He raised one eyebrow, clearly not appreciating the other man’s tone and his LED dipped from blue to yellow. 

‘ _Good_ ’, Gavin thought. ‘Think about this shit.’ The android simply stared at him in pensive silence as the yellow looped on his temple. Gavin tried, he tried so hard to contain his anger. It was a doomed battle though and it bubbled over like the fucking chicken casserole would, if he had anything to do with it. “You’re here? Just making dinner like nothin’s wrong? No phone call, text, nothing? I’ve been worried sick!”

Nines seemed genuinely confused as to why his boyfriend was so angry. “Why would you be worried? I told you I’d be back as soon as I could, I got here about an hour ago.”

“An hour ago? I thought you were coming back last night, not in 24 hours! I mean, what the hell, Nines?” He gestured with his hands palms up, out to either side. 

The android laid both of his own hands flatly on the counter top and brought his bottom lip between his teeth as his upper lip made a one-sided snarl. “I’m trying here, Gavin.” His voice was a pitched, fake-sweet mockery of understanding. 

“Trying to what?!” he shot back with more venom than expected. “You’re acting so weird, Nines, I don’t understand. Just talk to me, _please_ what the hell is going on?” 

The RK rotated his face downward but his eyes remained leveled at the other man. His fingers curled slightly up from the counter, scraping their nails along it with the motion. “I’m growing tired of repeating myself and asking you to stop questioning me, Gavin.” He pushed himself away from the kitchen counter and bringing his hands together, palm-to-palm prayer style in front of him, he touched them to his lips. After a short huff, he simply stood there, staring at the other man like he was calculating his next actions carefully. 

Pleading in full to understand what was happening, Gavin shook his head and whined out, “Please, babe. I’m not asking you to tell me about the case, I don’t give a shit about that, I just want to know about us! You’re not acting yourself and it’s scaring me.” 

“About _us_?” The android sneered at him with a raised brow. “What, is this all because I haven’t fucked your needy little ass yet?”

Surprised and disgusted by what Nines was insinuating, Gavin barked an incredulous “ _What!_?” His face reflected the insult of the suggestion, “This has nothing to do with sex, are you serious?” 

Within a couple of long strides, the RK was right in front of him, his LED spun red. ‘ _Ok, not good’,_ crossed his mind. Nines grabbed Gavin by the front of his jacket and hoisted him up off of his feet. The shorter man’s eyes rounded in fear as they came level with the piercing blue eyes of the taller android. His breath hitched in his throat. Refusing to be silent in his fear again though, Gavin attempted to interject, pleading, “Babe, I just want to talk to you!”

The android kept his upper lip stiff in a sneer. “Well, Gavin, I’m afraid I’m not very interested in _talking_ to you right now. But I did make a promise I intend to follow through with.” At that, the android half carried, half dragged his human into the bedroom and deposited him like a pile of laundry, haphazardly onto the bed. 

Nines stood upright and began unbuckling his trousers. Gavin hated that his cock immediately stirred into interest. He remained motionless on the bed however, still in disbelief over what was happening. 

Momentarily halting his disrobing, the RK looked down at him. “What... are you going to tell me you don’t want this?” The taller man’s tone was snarky and biting.

He wanted this, the need for it had been burning for weeks. He didn’t really want it _like this,_ but he did, indeed, want this. After a few moments passed of him watching Nines undress, the human began to follow suit and be hurriedly tore off his jacket and jeans, fueled by feverish anxiety. His dick strained at full attention, unconcerned with the other head’s issues. 

Clad still in his boxers and a white T-shirt, Gavin reached up to kiss his boyfriend, now naked from the waist down and LED its usual calm blue. The android grabbed his wrist however and roughly spun his body around, shoving his face into the bed while his rear end remained in the air. Wincing from the pain as the skin around his stitches and the rest of his sore body objected to the careless handling, Gavin sucked a hiss of air through his gritted teeth. He hadn’t even had the opportunity to tell Nines about the injury. He began to mention it now, “Babe, I kinda got hurt while we were arresting Dixon…” but Nines cut him off. 

Clamping down hard on his wrist with a quick forward shove of it into his back, he commanded, “Stay. And shut up.” Nines moved across the bed toward the end table and withdrew the lube from its place there. Nothing had made sense to Gavin for a while now. But this?... This was so far out of character for the android that every red flag on the planet waved with vigor in Gavin’s mind. 

Rough sex was no uncommon occurrence between the men. Their ‘normal’ was playful harassment, teasing and daring the other to take things just a bit further. Sometimes punishment was well deserved and welcomed; A bit of discomfort could be fun. But Nines had been just as invested as Gavin in the Dixon case before he left, surely he’d still care. And that aside, the mention of being hurt during the arrest should have stopped Nines in his tracks. Absolutely never would he ignore genuine pain or concern from his partner. Gavin started to sit upright and object when Nines asked suddenly from behind him, “Do you want me to leave, Gavin?”

The question caught him completely off guard. ‘Like, _leave_ leave?’ he wondered in his head. It took him a moment to even realize the other man had given him an ultimatum. His face twisted to the thought. “Dafuq? Of course I don’t want you to leave!”

Having paused for the reply, Nines responded with a painfully hard grab to the back of his neck and another, even harder shove into the bed. “Then I suggest, for once in your miserable life, that you just shut your mouth and do as you’re told.” Not knowing how else to possibly respond in the moment, Gavin’s mind swam with conflicted emotion and confusion, the human complied with the orders. 

Nines moved to kneel behind Gavin on the comforter and gingerly pulled the boxers down to his knees on the bed. With a snap of the lube’s cap, the android slicked the length of his own rigid cock. He toyed the head of his dick briefly up and down the cleft of his partner’s ass hole. 

It had been a while since Gavin had taken the RK900’s formidable size, so he was tight as a drum. He felt a lube-slick finger rimming the edges of the firm muscle surrounding his entrance and the sensation was so sorely missed, his dick throbbed with eagerness. Expecting the finger to soon gently breach that ring of muscle and begin the process of loosening and relaxing him there, Gavin moaned in anticipation. 

However, with no warning or concern for the human whatsoever, Nines buried his full length into him with one strong, hard shove. 

Gavin screamed in shock and pain as his most sensitive orifice was violated without any care or preparation. A hand clamped firmly over his mouth to muffle the cry. He struggled to escape the pain of the intrusion but strong fingers dug harshly into his side, locking his body in place. 

Nines stilled inside of him momentarily while Gavin panted through this nose, above the iron hand that still locked his mouth shut, as the rest of his body adjusted to the android’s size filling him. Slowly, as Gavin’s breathing became shuttered, shallow actions, Nines’ cock began moving in and out of his crudely stretched ass. The hand finally released his mouth and though every muscle in Gavin’s body still held a strained tension, small waves of pleasure began gently lapping over him. A pained whimper beginning in his throat became a groan as it escaped his lips. 

It wasn’t that he’d never had this treatment before, hell, sometimes he’d sought it out. But he never would have expected it from Nines. Nines had always been different, it was one of the reasons he’d fallen so hopelessly in love with him.

Had the love of his life, the one and only person he trusted to be there for him, really just threatened to leave him if he didn’t very literally ‘shut up and take it’?

Gavin screwed his eyes shut to the prickling of tears that threatened to escape them, he wanted to sob. There was no way he was going to cry during sex though, ever. Instead, he grit his teeth and forced himself to believe he just wanted it rough. Extra rough. He _was_ plenty angry enough to let that emotion take over and convince the rest of him that this was no different than any of the angry sex he’d had before in his life, before Nines.

Guess he’d finally just driven this guy to that point too. 

Nines paused to apply more lube and when he re-aligned with Gavin, the human rocked back himself, onto his partner’s length. Nines laughed a huff of air, looking down at the other man with revile. The thick presence filling him began to move faster, synthetic skin slapped hard against his ass cheeks with rhythmic shoves. Clearly it was each man for himself here, another first for the couple, so Gavin reached between his legs to begin stroking his own neglected cock. Despite the initial pain and the inexplicable strangeness of the situation, Nines’ dick never failed to work Gavin’s body in all the right ways. And no man’s hand will ever work a dick better than they can their own. 

Low moans escaped Gavin and in no time, he was already chasing the edge of his orgasm. He doubted Nines was suddenly gonna take things slowly either. Letting his body rock with the actions of the man pounding into him, he bit down onto the pillow beside his head to muffle the small cry as he spilled over the edge. His cum sprayed the bed sheets below him in small bursts. As if on cue, Nines gave one final shove that buried him to the hilt inside of his partner. He stilled, filling Gavin with the product of his own climax. The two remained there momentarily, one breathed heavily while small fans whirred inside the other to serve the same purpose. 

Just as Nines withdrew from him, a knock at the apartment door surprised them both. Gavin wasn’t sure whether the timing was perfect, or he wished it had come 20 minutes sooner. The android shot him an accusatory look, “Are you expecting anyone?” Gavin unburied his face from the bed, body still stiff. His throat was dry and saliva felt thick in his mouth so he just shook his head to indicate ‘no’. 

Nines quickly retrieved his pants and fastened the belt. Straightening his shirt and making sure he was presentable enough, he glanced at Gavin as he sluggishly moved to fully support himself up on his knees so he could pull his boxers back up into place. The android gave him an annoyed frown. “I’ll get it. You get your shit together.” He left the room, closing the bedroom door behind him. 

*****

  
  


Connor knocked and waited patiently outside the apartment. If Nines wasn’t going to come to him, he’d just seek the other out instead. He hoped his worries were unfounded, maybe Nines really was just busy and couldn’t come by the precinct. Connor missed the man and couldn’t wait to see him. 

When Nines opened the door, Connor’s happiness at seeing the familiar face was short-lived. He clearly hadn’t been ready for company and looked unhappy to have received it. An unavoidable scan showed an elevated body temperature and traces of fluid, both human and android; Connor realized he had unintentionally interrupted something. He’d have felt bad and apologized immediately— a year ago he would have— but something here felt off. It had taken years of experience and countless lessons from Hank for him to acquire what his grizzly partner referred to as ‘instinct’.

Connor had interrupted an intimate moment between Gavin and Nines accidentally before. He’d entered the DPD’s archived evidence room to look up an old case file at the wrong time. While Gavin had scrambled to hide, face beet red and mortified, Nine’s reaction had been a confident smirk.

Connor couldn’t put his finger on it but this time, his brother just didn’t look annoyed for the right reasons. Standing in the doorway, not in the least bit welcoming, the RK900 fake smiled. “Connor, what a pleasant surprise!”

“Hello, Nines. I’m so happy to finally see you! I’ve missed you terribly.” That was all still the truth. Mustering a bit of pushiness he normally reserved for suspects, Connor took a half step forward and giving little option, asked, “May I come in?” 

Conceding that he had no valid reason for denying the man, and not wanting to raise his suspicions needlessly, Nines stepped to the side and gestured for the RK800 to enter. “Of course, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

Connor supplied honestly, “I’ve been trying to reach you internally but have had no luck. I was beginning to become concerned.” 

He scanned the place and could detect Gavin was in the bedroom at the end of the hall. His vitals were not outside the realm of normal for someone who’d just had intercourse, though, they also seemed... off. Something sat half-completed in a casserole dish in the kitchen. 

“Ah. My apologies, Connor. My messaging capabilities are still limited as they could compromise my work with the FBI. That still has to take my priority, unfortunately.” He buttoned the cuffs of his shirt sleeves as he spoke. “Speaking of which, I hate to say that I’ve really got to be going. I have a meeting to get to.” 

The door in the hallway opened and Connor only saw Gavin briefly as he passed from the master bedroom into the bathroom. The man gave him no more than a quick flicker of eye contact. He looked disheveled and small, like his dignity had been bruised... and maybe more than that too. Impossible to miss, despite Gavin’s efforts to hide it, a small line of bright red blood seeped through his white T-shirt. Connor recognized it by location as the injury he’d received during the Dixon arrest. But that was days ago, why would it be bleeding again now? 

The RK800’s eyes narrowed. This wasn’t right. This wasn’t the doing of the man he called his brother at all. Nines would kill someone for putting Gavin into the human’s current state. Connor turned to see the other android glaring at him from across the living room. He spoke low, through gritted teeth. “Well as I’ve said, Connor, I’d love to spend more time catching up and all, but I’ve really got to be going.” 

“Very well. But I’d like to arrange some time to talk soon, if possible.” He didn’t want this confrontation to happen right here, anyway.

Clearly just trying to move him out the door, Nines reply was notably disinterested. “Sure, that’d be great. Maybe once this all dies down some.”

Hoping he wasn’t leaving Gavin to greater danger, Connor reluctantly departed as the other RK practically kicked him out of the apartment.

He headed to the ground floor of the complex but remained outside of the building, just out of sight. He kept his sensors strained on the area of Gavin’s apartment. There were no sounds of struggle or fighting but it took several minutes for the other android to leave the dwelling and a short time later, Nines finally emerged, making his way toward the parking lot.

Stepping directly in front of him, Connor stood squarely. He still wished nothing but peaceful resolution, as always, but he was created for the same intimidation and potential for violence as his brother. “Nines, I believe there is something very concerning happening here. You asked me to watch Gavin in your absence, but I did not expect the worst of his state to happen after your return.”

The other android laughed an airy chuckle through his nose before donning a toothy sneer. “See, Connor, the problem is that I frankly don’t give a shit how Gavin is. I have a job to do that’s far more important than him, or you, for that matter, and I need to be getting to it.” He moved to side-step the 800. But Connor reached out to grab his wrist, halting his motion. 

The other RK went rigid, still facing mostly away from him. Darkness filled his eyes and LED dipped straight from blue to a murderous red. His voice set low and threatening. “I’d be careful, _predecessor_ , I outmatch you on every front.” His blue eyes rotated to meet Connor’s browns. “It’s not my mission to harm you, but if you interfere I won’t hesitate to.”

Tightening his hold on the 900’s wrist, Connor forced an emergency system interface with the other android, overriding the prompt for his counterpart to accept or deny the intrusion in the blink of an eye. He needed only to confirm his one glaring suspicion, and he very first line of information did so.

RK900 #313 248 317 - 86. 

The difference of a single number within an android’s serial number was the same as changing a line of genetic code within a human’s DNA. It could mean all the difference in the world. This was -86. The prototype that predated Nines, -87, in his development. A quick search of CyberLife’s records indicated the android had been too volatile in testing. He’d been decommissioned and ordered to be destroyed before Nines— the real Nines— was even woken up. 

Knowing he’d been found out, the other android took advantage of the emergency interface. It was a post-factory install as an RK exclusive asset to allow overrides in desperate situations with other androids. It had limited functions. As Connor had utilized, it exposed the serial number for accurate identification. It also allowed for a location signal to be sent publicly, as would be useful in a search and rescue type situation where broadcasting the location of an unresponsive or uncooperative victim to other rescuers may be necessary.

Controversially, it could also disable the network transmissions of the android until the RK who’d initiated the task or a CyberLife tech reinstated them. The intended purpose was to limit criminal androids from communicating plans, alibis, etc between one another during an arrest. 

But in this case— it’s purpose was to completely fuck Connor out of his opportunity to share what he’d just learned. Unfortunately, when occurring between two RKs who both had the upgrade, the one who initiated the interface apparently wasn’t the only RK to have control within it. And once one of them “flipped the switch” within the function, so to speak, the other could not correct the action themselves. A tragic oversight, Connor realized just then and wished he could convey in a scathing message to CyberLife. Impossible however, as -86 had disabled the 800’s ability to send any and all non-verbal communication. 

-86 yanked his arm away from Connor’s grasp and swung on him. The punch landed squarely to side of Connor’s lower jaw, fracturing the structure in two places.

Connor knew factually that the RK900 model was more advanced than himself. Nines was the only one he’d previously encountered though... and he’d never fought Nines. Thus, Connor had no actual experience with the added speed, strength and processing of the updated prototype, and the sheer power of the blow surprised him. He wasn’t going to go down without a fight though. He landed a hard, well placed kick to the center of the 900’s regulator pump. The imposter flew backwards and skidded across the ground away from him. Connor pursued the motion and was on top of him in an instant. 

As he twisted the younger model’s arm behind his own back however, a hard upward shove from his opponent changed their position. The other RK was able to grab Connor’s throat and he latched there with enough force to crack the chassis casing. He didn’t need to breathe of course, but the grip allowed his upper body to be momentarily controlled by the stronger counterpart. 

As Connor attempted to land a punch, -86 slung him to the side. He caught the wrist as it grazed him and with more power than Connor could ever muster, the other android twisted and yanked the arm in one smooth movement. With the sound of stressing and snapping plastic, the action tore the mangled arm completely away from his shoulder. A spray of thirium and sparks burst from the injury and only a few random wires connected the otherwise severed appendage.

Maintaining his iron-clad grip on the 800s neck, the taller RK slammed Connor’s face forward, down against the concrete. Connor attempted still to fight back against the other android, but was simply outmatched. -86 straddled him, pinning him completely against the ground. A barrage of error messages and system alerts flooded his system as he tried in vain to escape the hold.

Connor felt no pain from his severed arm or the position he was twisted into. But time stopped when he felt the other android sliding his own service gun from its holster at the small of his back. He took an unnecessary gulp of air before a bullet pierced through his right temple. It shattered his LED and entered the fragile components that mimicked a brain and immediately, all of his function ceased completely. 

Unceremoniously, with no ability to call for help or send a last message containing the so very many things he wanted, needed to say... to Gavin, to the real Nines, to _Hank_ …. Connor’s world went black. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, Connor. 💔
> 
> Hate it? Love it? Too much? It would be way better if _____? Tell me!


	8. Chapter 8

Gavin stood in the bedroom as Nines answered the door. His arm, head, side, neck and ass all ached. He could hear it was Connor who’d stopped by. Having pulled his boxers up, Gavin attempted to open the bedroom door quietly, he didn’t want Connor to see him. Normally he would have just waited until the visitor left, but he was desperate to rid himself of as much of the last 20 minutes as he could. 

Of-fucking-course, the RK800 was standing directly in view of the hallway he had to pass through. He cursed under his breath when he could feel the damp where some blood from Nines’ rough handling had soaked through his T-shirt. He prayed he was successfully hiding it with his arm as he tried to dash to the bathroom. Connor gave him a weird look but didn’t try to stop or speak with him. ‘ _Good enough’_ , he figured. 

He sighed, long and deep as he turned on the shower and waited for it to warm up. When Gavin shed his clothing and stepped in, the hot water on his re-opened side burned like a bitch as he tried to muffle the hiss of air he brought through his teeth. A couple of the stitches had popped, but the majority were still good.

Faintly, he could hear Connor and Nines speaking in the living room, and though he couldn’t make out what they were saying, the tone was pleasant enough. As much as his heart hurt with whatever was going on in his relationship, he was genuinely happy for the RK brothers to be catching up. Nines loved and looked up to Connor, and he hoped their friendship wasn’t strained as well. 

Just a few minutes later, he was surprised to hear the apartment door closing, presumably Connor leaving. It was a much shorter visit than he had ~~hoped~~ expected.

Feeling uncomfortable in his own home for the first time since he was a kid, he denied to himself that he kinda dreaded being alone again with Nines. The concept made his heart ache as well now, in addition to the rest of his sore self. He never would have believed this would be _them_. 

Resolving to stay in the shower until every drop of hot water ran out, and maybe even after that, he retrieved his loofah scrub from the shelf. Axe body wash didn’t claim to be able to scrub away shame, but he was damn sure gonna try. The dark outlines of the tattoo on his chest blurred as the sudsy froth obscured them. It was an ouroboros, a dragon consuming its own tail that encircled the area of his heart. The claws appeared to grip his flesh as wings stretched up toward his shoulder. 

He got lost in his own thoughts, eyes closed as his face pointed up at the shower ceiling. He allowed the water to cascade directly over his face. He thought he might’ve heard the apartment door close again, but wasn’t sure. On the fence as to whether he hoped it was Nines leaving or not, he decided to ignore it. He just wanted to live here, in the warm water as it washed the mess and the stress away. With a soft ‘thunk’, he let his head rest against the tile of the shower while the water snaked rivers along his bare back. Shit was definitely wrong. Maybe something had gone sideways wherever Nines had been and he’d gotten a virus? Maybe the FBI had fucked with his code? Maybe something….

He yanked his head away from the wall. **“W** ** _as that a gunshot?”_ **he asked out loud to the thick, humid air within the bathroom walls. He was a cop, it wasn’t like he didn’t know the sound. And it came from close, within the property of the apartment complex. He slammed the water off, jumping out of the tub and grabbing his shirt from the floor, he ran, naked, into the living room. “Nines?!” he yelled, but the apartment seemed to be empty. 

Struggling to pull the shirt over his soaked body, the fabric stuck like plastic cling wrap to the wetness of his torso as he skidded into the bedroom. A woman’s voice screamed outside. _Shit, shit, shit!_ he though… what the hell had happened? This wasn’t the best side of town. Could’ve been a gang related shooting, drug deal gone wrong, robbery… any number of things. Could it have involved Nines? He hopped awkwardly on one leg as he fought to get his jeans back on. Finally wrangling them into position, he grabbed his gun, badge and cell phone from the counter. He slipped his shoes onto his bare feet as he ran full speed, taking the steps two at a time down the staircase toward the ground floor. 

A few people were already gathering around someone lying motionless on the sidewalk. It was dark and Gavin couldn’t make out much until he got closer... Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw as he ran upon the scene. He fell to his knees when he recognized the grey jacket. Its once-bright-blue armband still adorned the sleeve of the arm that sat detached about a foot away. Dread clenched his gut like the talons of some primordial beast.

“Oh God… _Oh God_ , Connor…” Gavin whispered as he crawled on his hands and knees the rest of the short distance up to the mangled body of his friend and colleague. He attempted to find any sign of life, but there was nothing but a powerless mechanical shell. Thirium still seeped lazily from the space where Connor’s arm had been and from the bullet hole in his head, the blue blood looking like black oil in the darkness. His LED was shattered, the pieces of it a lifeless grey. 

He shouted at the people standing uselessly around, “Did anyone see anything? Did you call 911?” This had happened mere moments before. Everyone shook their heads. Gavin’s hands were covered in thirium but he didn’t even realize it until he’d dug his phone out of his pocket and his fingers slipped on the screen. He wiped it away on his damp shirt and called dispatch. 

“This is Detective Gavin Reed, we have an officer down at 14th and Union. I need, uh…” he had started to say an ambulance before he realized that would do them no good. “I need a CyberLife technician and patrol units here right away.” His calmness while making the call came from nothing but years of practice. His mind and heart were both racing a hundred miles an hour. 

Wait… he looked up and around when the realization hit him. Where was Nines? Hadn’t Connor left first? He looked to the faces above him. The expressions ranged from morbid curiosity to total disgust. “Did anyone see another android here?” Again, the few people shook their heads, a larger crowd forming to join them. Terror gripped him. Could Nines have been abducted? Alone chasing whoever had done this? Gavin addressed all of the onlookers again, louder this time so that the others standing further back, and just joining could hear as well. “Please…” his voice began to crack, “Did anyone see another android here?”

Sirens approaching in the distance were the only reply. 

*****

  
  


Tina got there first, followed by a couple of other DPD units. When the CyberLife technician arrived, he took one brief look over Connor and shrugged. “Man, I can take him, but I don’t think there’s anything we can do.” 

Gavin almost attacked him, it took everything Tina had to hold him back. It was her who had to address the technician from then on. He made it clear that Connor’s core processors ‘were fucked’, but she insisted they try. “Try everything,” she told him. “He’s an invaluable asset to us as an officer and friend.” The words hardly did it justice, Gavin thought. But he couldn’t voice much, all he could think about was Nines.

And Hank. 

_Fuck._

Gavin held his phone in his hands, the Lieutenant’s number pulled up on the screen. He paced up and down the sidewalk as the technician reluctantly loaded Connor, setting his barely attached arm on top of his chest, into the back of the van. 

The very worst job of any Police Officer is notifying family members of people who’ve been gravely injured or killed. The only thing that could top it, was when it was another officer who’d been killed. And the only way to one-up _that_ , was when the “family member” was also a cop. Oh yeah, a cop and the fucking partner of the deceased family member. But oh wait… there’s one more tier, apparently… a cop who’s already barely gotten through life after losing _another_ fucking family member too soon… who’s now also lost his fellow cop, his partner and family. 

The longer Gavin waited to make the phone call, the angrier Hank would be. He practically hyperventilated looking down at his phone.

When Tina walked up beside him and asked, “Hey, where’s Nines?” Gavin thought he might just die, right then and there. He looked up at her like he was completely lost, a pained whine escaping his throat. _Gavin called out sick from life today, sorry._ Instead of answering (or screaming, or crying, or finding the closest cliff), he just walked away from her, finally hitting the call button. 

Gavin and Hank had been increasingly amicable these past couple years, but they still weren’t exactly friends. Hank’s help with the Dixon case recently was largely following Connor’s wishes. Gavin knew the man well enough now to know the call shouldn’t come from anyone else though, and that the Lieutenant wouldn’t want to be pussyfooted around with. He spoke it all out in one long string, giving the man no time to respond in between. “Hank? It’s Reed. Connor’s been shot. It’s bad and he’s shut off. They're taking him to CyberLife. It happened outside of my apartment building. Want me to meet you here or at the repair center?”

Gavin could hear the older man swallowing his panic. Maybe he was a bit too blunt? Nah, that’s what Hank would want. “What the fuck happened, Reed???” He sounded understandably blind-sided, but also like he was a few drinks in. That changed the plans.

“Never mind, stay there, I’m coming to you. I’ll be there in 15.” He was already walking toward his Jeep, leaving Tina and everyone else to figure the crime scene out.

He knew Hank would object, and right on cue, “Don’t tell me what to do, jackass! ‘M getting my keys now.” 

“Hank, I’m sure Connor’s going to be fine.” _Because,_ the small voice pleaded in his head, _he has to be fine_. “But if I let you drive and you get hurt, he’s going to kill me. I’m not asking.” And just to make sure, because he was willing to pull out every stop, “You get behind that wheel, drunk and upset and I’ll arrest you myself the moment I see you. It’ll be hard to stay at Connor’s bed side from a fucking jail cell.” 

Hank knew he’d do it, too. “Fuck you, Reed. Hurry up.” 

Hank had seen some shit. He’d been on the DPD for a long time and he’d had a rough roadway through life. Gavin was surprised by how well he was holding it together, all things considered. Still, the impact on the Lieutenant was obvious, and when they arrived at the repair center, Hank’s hands were trembling in full and he looked like he was fighting tears every so often. 

Stress gnawing constantly at the forefront of his mind, Gavin had called every number he had for Nines repeatedly. He called Fowler and told him what had happened to Connor, quickly getting into a shouting match with the Captain about demanding to speak to whoever at the FBI might have answers. How he was going to drive to the fucking FBI’s front door (wherever the hell that was) and start breaking faces until someone told him what the fuck was going on. Fowler eventually bowed to the swearing and lunacy of the detective and agreed to reach out to the only contact he had regarding Nines. He agreed to let Gavin know if there was anything they’d tell him. So far though, radio silence from all fronts… as per the new normal. 

Hank and Gavin sat in silence at the CyberLife repair facility waiting area. Hank ran his fingers through his hair, eyes closed and foot tapping the edge of the chair in front of him. He picked his head up suddenly and glared at Gavin. If looks alone could kill the other, this one would’ve. Hank started to speak but stopped himself and then looked back to the ground. He breathed heavily in steady measured huffs through his nose— someone on the edge of fury, working to keep themselves calm. 

If Gavin had been a smarter man, he would’ve shut up and let Hank work through his stress. But as we’ve already established, Gavin is not that man. The third time Hank raised his head like he wanted to speak, Gavin opened his mouth first. “Spit it out, Anderson.”

He honestly expected Hank to explode, that probably would’ve been better, really. Instead, Hank spoke quietly, looking straight forward, “You know how this looks, don’t you?”

Genuinely not having a clue what the lieutenant meant, Gavin asked, “Huh?”

“Connor,” the older man clarified. “He went to your place …” he looked over at Gavin, “because he knew you were hiding something and thought you may be in danger.” 

“Are you saying this is my fault?” 

“No,” he spoke as he looked forward again. “I think it’s Nines’ fault. But I think if you hadn’t kept shit hidden, maybe he could’ve stood a better chance, maybe he would have been more prepared for whatever went down.” 

Gavin couldn’t contain his affronted reaction as his head withdrew with a shocked, “ _Ex-cuse-me_?” Was Hank really blaming this on Nines?

“You heard me, Reed. Connor knew there was something wrong with Nines. But he couldn’t get you to tell him, so he went there because he was worried about what was going on.”

If any android had been there right then, they would’ve seen Gavin’s stress levels pinging off the charts. It was a good thing the only other person who had been in the waiting room had left a few minutes ago. Gavin threw himself up from the chair and fire filled his eyes. “Are you suggesting Nines did this?! He would never hurt Connor!” 

“I’m guessin’ he had nothing to do with why your side is bleeding again, either?”

Gavin had completely forgotten about his side and the cause for suspicion there. “That’s none of your fucking business, and it’s got nothing to do with Connor. Hank, you know how much Connor means to him, how can you even say this?”

“Yeah, Reed, I know how much both of you meant to him before he left. But he was gone for months to heavens knows where and Connor says you’ve been acting strange, lying and stressed out ever since he came back. Hell, it might not even _be_ him that came back!”

“Of course it’s him, Hank! Don’t you think I’d know my own boyfriend? There weren’t even other RK900s ever completed! He was tired from a long trip, he’s not suddenly going to go and murder his fucking brother!” Even as he yelled the argument though, Gavin’s conscience knocked at the inside of his skull with just how many weird, out of character things Nines had done since returning. He wrapped the idea up like a dead rat and chucked it out of his head. 

Hank continued listing possible scenarios of what might have happened between Connor and Nines while Gavin listed any number of other possible explanations of how Connor had become hurt that had nothing to do with Nines. 

As they shouted back and forth in the empty waiting area, they didn’t even notice a female android wearing a lab coat approach them. She cleared her throat to politely capture their attention, but neither irate man was giving up their position. She finally bellowed “Excuse me!” before they turned their attention toward her. Gavin rubbed the back of his neck while Hank ran his fingers through his hair as both muttered a quiet, simultaneous “... sorry.” 

She smiled pleasantly despite their rudeness. Looking back and forth between them and in a much more professional tone asked, ”Is one of you Hank Anderson?” Hank nodded and took a step forward. “Thank you, we have you listed on his records as his primary contact.” For deviant androids, this is the closest legal distinction to ‘next of kin’. She briefly eyed Gavin to reference the question, and asked Hank, “Would you like to speak in private?” 

The Lieutenant also looked Gavin up and down, bringing an offended, scrunched expression from the younger man. 

Gavin hadn’t been on this side of the waiting room before though, not like this. He didn’t know what Hank already understood: why she had asked the question. 

Hank shook his head to answer her, and within the time of a single fleeting breath, his demeanor changed. The anger, the fight, the sparks he’d been flinging at his younger colleague mere seconds before… gone abruptly. The drop of the man’s shoulders silenced any thoughts Gavin had even considered voicing. Hank took a shaky breath and looked at the ground, his hands perched at either side of his waist. “No. No, he can hear it too.”

She took a pause to smile sympathetically at both men and lowered her volume. “I’m sorry, but there’s nothing we can do for him. The arm and the jaw are easy, but the damage to his core processors is too great.” She drew her lips into a saddened, straight line and repeated, “I’m sorry.” 

Gavin stood with his arms folded across his chest. The anger at Anderson and his accusations, the confusion about Nines, the emotion of finding Connor like he had.. it was all too much already. Adding a sour cherry onto this shit sundae with blue blood on top just wasn’t going to happen. “No. No fucking way.” Gavin refused to accept the words, shaking his head to even considering the option. “Connor isn’t gone, he’s in there, he has to be.” 

The nurse was probably very familiar with the reaction. Denial is at the top of the grief list, after all. She stood kindly and quietly waiting for Gavin to accept her words as fact and for Hank to indicate what he wanted to do with the information. 

Hank pitied the younger man. He would never consider him a true friend, but Connor did. And Gavin had been better and better to Connor the last couple years. He’d helped him, shown appreciation for him and defended him more than once even when he had no idea Hank or Connor could know about it. The cold numb in Hank’s own veins, gripping his chest and stomach like a rod of ice had been shoved through his whole body… it didn’t make him forget how worried Connor had been for Gavin the past few days, that Gavin was already under much more serious stress than he was letting on. Hank reached his hand out to place it on Gavin’s shoulder but the detective recoiled before the touch and yanked himself away. 

“No,” Gavin shook his head and emitted the specific laugh people make when refusing to accept a situation. An airy, choppy sound in the back of the throat, devoid of any humor. Crossing his arms again, as though his defiance alone would bring Connor back, he leaned one shoulder against the wall and raised the other in a half shrug. “It’s not possible, he’s not dead.” The woman started to speak, but Gavin cut her off. “I don’t want to hear it. If you can’t fix him, I’ll take him to someone who can.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come join our active D:BH fandom on Discord!  
> There are loads of FanFic recommendations, art and love for these characters. 
> 
> https://discord.gg/Md24pe


	9. Chapter 9

Hank fought him tooth and nail. 

In fairness, Hank’s history with ‘hope’ was that its only purpose was prolonging the pain. Death was decisive and final and the longer Gavin dragged this out, the further it delayed his own game with the destination. He wouldn’t tell Reed of course, but his decision was already made. He’d started steeling himself before Gavin even picked him up and had the plans all lined up. First, he’d keep his shit together for now; Then, he’d bury Connor; Next he'd make his own arrangements and then finally... he’d play one last game until he lost. And that would be that. 

But as for the here and now, Hank put his foot down. He couldn’t handle false hope and dragging this out. The techs here knew as much as anyone else and if they couldn’t save him, no one else could.

Gavin threatened to steal Connor’s body and Hank threatened to shoot him. Neither was entirely sure of how truthful the others’ claim was… or their own, for that matter. 

Eventually, willing to hand in his own cards before he’d give up on Connor’s, Gavin confessed the fact he’d kept hidden from every soul he knew for many years now. The legal name change and effort to scrub it from any search possible, hiding the matter had been a lot of work. But if his secret saved Connor, Gavin would eat the consequences. He huffed a sigh and gripped at the bridge of his nose. He frowned at the belligerent older man before claiming, “Elijah Kamski can save him.” 

Hank rolled his eyes. “Yeah, good luck with that. We couldn’t get him on the phone, none the less willing to help us.”

Keeping his eyes shut and volume just above a whisper, Gavin replied, “He’ll answer if I call.” 

“And why the hell would he do that?”

Gavin rolled his head from side to side, trying to relieve the tension stiffening there like a wet towel that’d been left in the freezing night. “Because he’s my brother.” He finally opened his eyes to see Hank with one raised eyebrow. “Half-brother,” Gavin clarified. 

“Now you’re just making shit up, Reed. Enough is enough.”

“I’m serious.”

”You’re so full of shit.“ 

But Gavin wasn’t known for his acting skills, and when he remained straight faced, Hank knew he wasn’t just tossing lies and hoping one stuck. Hank took a few breaths as he considered the possibility of this being true. “Like, THE Elijah Kamski?” he asked, still largely in disbelief. 

“Yeah.”

The Lieutenant’s eyes narrowed in doubt, Reed had to be pulling his leg. “The guy who created all androids?”

”Well not all, no. Just most of them and the company that made the rest.”

“Oh _just_ those things, got it.”

  
  


  
Gavin excused himself with a defeated look on his face to make a phone call in private to his half-brother. 

He returned 10 minutes later with renewed fervor and the lingering smell of a cigarette or three.

Hank stopped arguing but kept right on not fully believing him until they were heading up the drive to the Kamski mansion an hour later. It was nearly 3am and the expansive house stood dark and still at the end of the lonely drive. Despite his skepticism and insistence on accepting Connor’s death, even his pessimistic attitude couldn’t deny that if anyone in the world stood a chance of fixing Connor, it was the very man who’d made him.

The repair facility assistant had asked the men how they’d like to transport Connor. Hank tried to ~~deflect~~ lighten his own mood and made a joke that referenced some ancient movie called “Weekend at Bernie’s” but it way predated Gavin and went completely over his head. The android assistant helping them seemed to have done a quick search of the reference and gave Hank a horrified look. 

In truth, bad joke aside, even the thought of seeing Connor again like he was, damaged and lifeless, made Hank want to vomit. He was sure he'd lost a brick of his own life span every time he’d seen the android he loved injured or killed before the revolution, even back when Connor insisted he was just a machine. The prospect of this now being his final, true death— no more beautiful innocence, no more steadfast determination or flickering of a coin— it had the Lieutenant’s sanity hanging by a thread. 

So Connor laid in a body bag, carefully draped across the back seat of Gavin’s Jeep as the two humans drove in silence. Hank would catch himself glancing back at the mass every time the movement of the vehicle shifted the weight of it. Twice they stopped so he could hurl on the side of the road. He blamed it on the alcohol, but both men knew the truth. 

Hank wanted badly to question everything about the secret brotherhood that Gavin had so well hidden. The DPD background checks were thorough and if anyone had found out the truth, they certainly hadn’t made it known. But the turmoil in Gavin was evident as he drove, and the Lieutenant didn’t want to stress him more or set the man off again.   
  


When the lights came on outside of the mansion, adrenaline shoved a last spike of energy into Gavin and he wanted to bolt, to take off at a sprint and never be heard from again. But he bit the inside of both cheeks and nodded ever so slightly, giving himself a little private pep rally before exiting the vehicle. He and Hank made their way up to the doorway side-by-side. 

Chloe answered the door. She was the only one other than Eli and now Hank who knew the truth about Gavin and Eli’s blood relationship. She was just as beautiful as the detective remembered, and equally as kind as she spoke. “I understand the circumstances are dire, but I’d be lying to say that it isn’t wonderful to see you, Detective Reed.”

Hank looked from the elegant android to Gavin and back just as she turned to address him. “Lieutenant Anderson, it’s a pleasure to have you as well.” 

“Thank you, ma’am,” Hank replied. In his wildest dreams, he never would have imagined this situation to be happening right now. 

Chloe stepped backward and gestured into the home with a warm smile, “Please, both of you, come in. Elijah will meet you shortly in the lab.” She led them through the cold architecture of the pristine structure. Reaching the large room lined with clear cabinets filled with wiring and computing power, Hank emitted a low whistle at the sheer volume of equipment there. Chloe voiced that Elijah would be along shortly and then she departed, leaving the men alone momentarily. 

In the center of the room was a metal table that no doubt functioned as a sort of operating table, but illicited visions of a torture platform as well. It had bindings along its frame to serve as restraints and holes to allow access to key ports along an android’s chassis. Hydraulic controls enabled it to be angled flatly, as it sat now, or tipped so that the figure bound to it could be held upright at varying degrees of a standing position. Hank curiously investigated the table more closely while Gavin frowned at it and maintained his distance.

Footsteps approached the entrance to the room and Elijah Kamski, clad in a white T-shirt and dark grey pajama pants, appeared at the doorway. He had been pulling his hair back as he walked and was just securing it into a hurried version of his trademark samurai knot as he entered the workspace. As his eyes fell on Gavin, he was overcome with how incredibly tired the man looked. He’d lost weight since Eli had last seen him and dark circles rimmed his partly hooded eyes. His face and shoulders were tense and he crossed his arms against his chest like he wanted to shut the whole world out. 

Still, the expression Eli bore at the sight of him was of cautious happiness. He smiled excitedly at his estranged younger brother, but his face betrayed a distrust as well, a glimmer of hope that peeked from behind a history of hurt. 

Guilt chucked some jagged sprinkles of broken glass on top of Gavin’s shit sundae and he averted his eyes from Elijah’s smile. They hadn’t spoken in years.

The fault had been primarily Gavin’s, but the weight of that past wasn’t something he had the strength to currently shoulder. Eli recognized his brother’s distress and knew better than to expect any resolution to their tattered history right now. 

Just then, saving any of them from forced words or uncomfortable silence, Chloe re-entered the room as well. The black body bag and the motionless form within it laid gently across her arms. The action of such a small frame carrying formidable weight with ease would always appear awkward to the brain of a comparably weak human. She carried Connor to the table before setting him down there, leaving his temporary shroud zipped in place. Hank inhaled a shaky breath and turned away. The sight of someone so loved, sealed in a body bag atop a stainless steel operating table would never be an easily overcome picture. 

Kamski offered him a sympathetic smile and gestured to a chair that sat across the room. “You’re welcome to have a seat in here Lieutenant, or Chloe can show you to the living room if you prefer.” Accepting the offer gladly, Hank turned toward Chloe and nodded his understandable wishes to leave the room entirely. 

Elijah wanted badly to speak, but he didn’t even know where to start. When his brother appeared even more unable to find the right words, he walked to where Connor lay on the table. “Right,” he said, “straight to business, then.” Relieved, Gavin’s shoulders relaxed and he moved to the other side of the table. Kamski unzipped the bag and both men delicately removed the body from it. His syntheskin had been deactivated by the CyberLife repair center, and the damage against the white chassis made the injuries appear even worse. His uniform had been removed and sat folded haphazardly under him in the bag. 

Eli rocked Connor’s head to either side, analyzing the entry and exit wounds. Gavin’s brows knitted when he noticed something he hadn’t before: Powder burns stippled the area around the entry wound, meaning the gun had been held very close to the android’s head when fired. Many options still remained as to what could’ve happened, but it was an important detail to solving whatever had occurred and Gavin snapped some photos for evidence. If Eli couldn’t fix Connor, this crime would need to be solved without the android’s first hand information. 

As Elijah continued to study the damage, he emitted a low “hmmm”. Glancing up at Gavin, he asked, “So you said you’re not sure what happened to him, specifically?” 

“Correct.”

“Well, like the repair center told you… the arm and jaw are easy. The head wound itself isn’t the problem, but I’m guessing by placement, the bullet passed right through his most vital processors. Whoever did this was either lucky, or they knew exactly what they were aiming for. 

More words the detective didn’t want to dwell on, and not an answer to the most important question yet: “So, can you fix‘m?” 

Eli let a breath of air fill his cheeks and then puffed it quickly between his lips. “I don’t know. Let me hook him up to the cables and see what we’ve got going on inside of there.”

As the inventor became absorbed into the display screen, lines of code scrolled past and Gavin paced across the back of the room. Eli lost track of time and an hour passed before he even looked up from the terminal, realizing he hadn’t heard his brother’s muttering and impatience recently. Spinning in his computer chair, it took only a brief search to locate the man, sitting on the floor in the back corner of the room, fast asleep as he rested against the walls. Guess the ‘tired look’ wasn’t just a look after all. Eli wondered what Gavin could be going through to give him such a haggard appearance. The situation with Connor was stressful no doubt, but Gavin’s state was much older than a few hours or even days. His clothes even fit poorly, a size too big for his frame.

The clock on his terminal told him it was almost 4:30am. Eli snuck out of the lab and made his way to the living room to fetch a throw blanket for his guest. He found Hank in a similar state, passed out on the couch. Chloe had already provided him with a blanket and judging by the empty whiskey glass on the coffee table, she’d been accommodating there too. She now sat on the other nearby couch, keeping watch over anything the Lieutenant may need as she read a book. Eli bent down to kiss her on the forehead and whispered a “Thank you” to her.

After returning to the lab and draping the blanket over his snoring brother, he got back to work in front of the terminal. 

  
  


When Gavin awoke, he was surprised to be covered and reasonably warm. He’d slid to be laying on his side at some point, and a couch pillow had been supplied as well. His first action as had been conditioned for months now, was to check his phone. It was 6:45am, and there was no correspondence from Nines or anyone else. If his heart was still sinking a little every time that was the case, it must’ve dropped past his nervous system by now. He couldn’t even feel it anymore. 

He certainly _did_ feel the effects from last night though. As soon as he moved to sit upright, his ass and side reminded him of their recent abuse. “Fuck,” he hissed and he grit his teeth to it and sat up anyway. 

Eli was steadily tapping away at lines of code and paused to glance when he heard the stirring. “You ok?” he asked as he spun in the chair toward him. “I’m sure that wasn’t the most comfortable spot in the house to fall asleep, but I didn’t want to wake you.” 

Gavin yawned and stretched his neck, the light ‘pop’ of the latter brought a relieved groan. “Yeah. I appreciate it, thanks.” The sharper pains well outweighed the stiffness from the sleeping position as he worked his way up to his feet. 

“No offense,” Kamski began, “and I know it’s none of my business. But you look like you’ve seen better.. uh, weeks?... is everything ok?” 

Gavin walked up beside Connor and looked him over again, now that some of the exhaustion had been staved off with a couple hours of sleep. He remained facing Connor and sighed a large breath in and out again. “No,” he admitted honestly for the first time, to anyone. “No, I’m definitely not ok. But it’s… it’s a lot to explain and I don’t have the time right now, I gotta get to the precinct and see what we can piece together about... this.” He gestured toward the android on the table with the last word. Sticking his hands in his pockets and the way his shoulders drooped, he looked like a kid. “So, about him…how bad does it look?”

His brother gave a small smile and cocked his head. “I don’t want to give anyone false hope. But I _think_ , with some time and parts ordered, I should be able to retrieve most of him.” He tapped a couple keys to initiate another process to run. “Seriously, I can’t promise success, the damage is bad,” he cautioned, “But I can promise I’ll try.”

A voice from the hall surprised them both, and they turned simultaneously to find Hank leaned against the doorway, still mostly outside of the room. “That’s more than I could ever hope for in itself.” He wearily eyed the figure on the table but moved no closer. Hank rubbed his face roughly and then regarded Gavin. “Hey, think you can drop me off at home? I gotta let Sumo out and change before I head in to work to confront the shit show this is going to be.”

“Yeah, no problem. I’ll meet you out at the Jeep in just a second.” Hank walked away as the brothers exchanged a heavy look. Elijah opened his mouth to speak but Gavin beat him to actual words. “I, uh… look, I can’t tell you how much it means to me that you’re willing to help us.” He rubbed the back of his neck as he continued, “Especially after… everything.”

Elijah shrugged. “I’ve told you, Gavin, I never wanted you out of my life. You’re my little brother, and I’m glad you’re letting me help you.” 

“Thanks. Really. I’ll call you later today to check on things?”

“Sounds great.”

With that, Gavin nodded a goodbye and headed to join Hank outside. 

  
  


After having dropped the Lieutenant off at home, Gavin walked into his own apartment; Not surprisingly, it was empty of any sign of life. The sheets on the bed were untouched, still soiled with blood and cum from the previous evening. He wanted to default to his angry outbursts and punch holes in the walls. None of this made sense and he had no way of getting answers. He shook his head and shoved the emotion down. One thing at a time.

He stripped the bed and started a load of wash, took a quick shower and got dressed for work. He was glad he didn’t have a pet or anything relying on him. They’d _almost_ gotten a cat just last year, but someone else had adopted her first. Maybe it had been for the best after all.

As he waited on his not-quite-instant coffee to finish, he stood in the living room. A framed photo taunted him from its shelf— it was a selfie he’d taken of he and Nines, happily holding one another on a beach trip last year. He wanted to chuck it out a window. An airplane window. Or grab his lighter and use it to set the whole fucking apartment on fire, starting with this photo. Instead, he just laid the frame face-down on the shelf, retrieved his coffee and went to work. 

This day, it was going to suck. 

  
  
  
  



	10. Chapter 10

The whole department seemed eerie and on edge; Gavin felt like everyone in the place was watching him as he made his way toward his desk. Tina came up and hugged him when he was halfway there, he tensed with the contact but didn’t push her away. She very well might, literally, be the only friend he has left and he’d kill anyone who said it out loud... but fuck did he ever need a hug. 

Hank had beat him in by almost an hour, and even though Hank would never spread gossip, people knew Connor was either dead or badly hurt, and where he’d been when it happened. Word spread quickly through this place as people speculated and guessed as to what could’ve happened and who could’ve been at fault. 

The Lieutenant was nowhere to be seen presently, but Gavin didn’t even make it to his desk before Fowler beckoned him to his office. The Captain sat behind the desk, hands folded. “Take a seat, Reed.” He did so without objection as Fowler frowned down toward his hands. “First off, are you ok?” Gavin nodded, confused by the concerns over his well being, of all things. 

Fowler told him Ben Collins would be leading the investigation into what they were presently classifying as the suspected murder of Connor. As Gavin and Hank had discussed while departing Kamski’s that morning, knowing they’d be questioned at length: explaining the whole truth was the only option. Hank had already been questioned and had given his perspective of the previous evening and obviously, that would’ve included Connor’s fears about Nines and Gavin. 

Now, it was Gavin’s turn to give his side of things and rather than have him explain it twice or risk missing any detail, Fowler accompanied him to the small interrogation room. No one observed from the other side of the two-way glass, this wasn’t an interrogation, but the conversation between the 3 men was videoed, as per normal protocol. 

Gavin told everything. The situation was beyond his pride or petty family angst and he tried to recount everything from the conversation with Nines before he’d left— the one where he talked about Connor keeping an eye on him— to how strange the 900 had been acting since returning. He told them about Nines roughing him up last night. Ok, so maybe he left out the _really_ explicit parts, but being picked up and shoved around explained his bloody side. They could infer the rest if they wanted to, probably. They had him raise his shirt so they could photograph the bruises and damage there. He vehemently refused medical treatment and had to sign some legal papers stating such to release the DPD of any legal repercussions, and the interview continued. 

Timeline was an important component, and he iterated as best as he could about how long it had taken the two androids to speak while he entered the shower, approximately when (presumably) Connor had left and then again purely by assumption, when Nines had departed as well. Now that it was close to 10am, his property management office would be open and able to receive the request for any cctv footage that may have captured the events. All three men mentally crossed their fingers, hoping there may be answers there and for a moment, Gavin’s mind pleaded with God or Fate or rA9 or whoever may be listening that the video would show _anything_ other than Nines shooting Connor.

Finally, he told them about his brother. That Gavin had legally changed his middle name from Kamski to Karl and hired a lawyer to find and remove any mention of the family ties before he’d applied to go through the Police academy. He could tell they were dying to ask more about all of it, but both older men thankfully kept to the professional and relevant necessities. 

Less appreciated however, when the interview was about over, Fowler insisted that Gavin remain on administrative leave for a minimum of the next 48 hours. 

He hated it, but he understood. Just because his hopes may be a bit blinded by love for the android didn’t mean he was suddenly an idiot or a bad cop and no matter how much he wanted to, he couldn’t deny at this point that Nines should be considered as a suspect. The combination of those things meant he was possibly too emotionally compromised to do his job— and was also a potential target. 

The voice in his head that wanted to scream and thrash, deny that Nines would ever dream of hurting him, _really_ hurting him… it was silenced by the knowledge that many victims said just that very thing, again and again, as the damage worsened. More than once he’d investigated a noise complaint, and then a domestic battery call a couple months later and then a murder the following year, all at the same address. And always, the victim had insisted everything was fine, their significant other ‘didn’t mean it’... right up until their beloved whoever silenced them permanently. If Nines really _had_ killed Connor, something or someone horrible had taken over his programming. And if he really had killed his own brother, who knows what else he would do.

“...didn’t see it. Do you have it?” 

Fowler’s question snapped him out of his train of thought, he hadn’t heard most of it though so he could only reply with a “Huh?” and a dumb look on his face. 

“The gun. Anderson said that Connor was armed when he left for your apartment, but he didn’t see the gun when y’all had his stuff laid out at Mr. Kamski’s. Do you have it?”

Gavin stared blankly as his mind scrolled through the last several hours. He’d looked Connor over well when he found him on the sidewalk, and there definitely hadn’t been a gun on him. “Uh, no, he wasn’t armed when I found him.” 

The two older men exchanged frowning glances before Collins confirmed, “You're sure?”

“Yeah...yeah. I don’t think anyone’d touched him or anything before I got there and he for sure didn’t have a gun.”

Fowler nodded with his lips pursed off to the side. “Ok, Reed, I’m sure you know why I’m asking this… do you have anywhere else you can stay for a few days, until we figure this stuff out?”

Gavin ran both hands up his face and through his hair until his forehead was practically on the desk, his fingers laced behind his head. His leg tapped up and down with the restless tension. “I dunno. I can ask.” Ironically, more than once he’d wanted to tell Nines about Kamski and their relationship, but he never had. So even if the RK wanted to come looking for him, Eli’s would never be a place he’d consider. 

He weighed the options momentarily… he might rather just risk death than ask his brother for yet another favor. 

Once their questioning was done, he grabbed a couple things from his office, told Tina he’d be out for a couple days but she could call him, and he headed to his Jeep. He frowned as he sat in the driver’s seat, pulling Elijah’s number up on the screen. He sighed, growling audibly as he hit the call button. A moment later, he was trying not to sound like exactly what he felt like: a piece of shit.

“Hey, Eli, it’s Gavin…”

“Hey! I wasn’t expecting to hear back from you so quickly, I got a little distracted with something else and haven’t made much progress with Connor yet, sorry.”

“No, no, that’s fine. That’s, uh...that’s not why I’m calling. I feel like such a dick for asking, but, um, is there any way I can stay with you? For like a couple days maybe?” He added quickly, before Eli would have a chance to respond, “If not, that’s totally fine, it’s no big deal.” 

Guilt tipped its hat at Gavin once again when Elijah sounded genuinely excited, “Of course you can stay! I’ll have Chloe get a guest room ready for you, you’re welcome here for as long as you need.”

“Thanks… thanks, Eli, I really appreciate it. I’ll see you in a bit.”

Gavin disconnected the call and rested his head against his steering wheel with a groan. There was nothing worse than being an ass hole to your family and then having to come crawling back as soon as you needed something; Again. 

He’d need to go by the apartment first for some basics, so he finally started the Jeep and headed home. When he got there though, and the emptiness of the space greeted him, “home” was the last thing it felt like. He stopped at the photo in their living room, the one he’d left face-down earlier that morning… he considered righting it momentarily, but then decided he didn’t want to see it. He sank into the nearby couch instead and took out his phone, scrolling almost automatically to his text messages with Nines. He bypassed the one-sided texts from himself, and went back a bit, from well before the RK had left.   
  


May 3rd, 

Gavin 12:18am: whatcha doin

High-Collar-Boi 12:18am: I’m literally sitting right beside you.

Gavin 12:20am: this stakeout sucks

Gavin 12:20am: can’t see shit with this rain

High-Collar-Boi 12:20am: You know you can speak to me out loud, right? I’m 14 inches away from you. Also, punctuation is a thing.

Gavin 12:21am: and yet. you. texted back.

He remembered the look Nines had given him right then, eyebrow raised, somewhere between wanting to punch Gavin or kiss him. In fairness, Nines seemed somewhere between those two actions for most of the time they’d known each other. 

May 10th,

High-Collar-Boi 4:45pm: Will you be going to the gym after work this evening?

Gavin 5:08pm: Probably, why? 

High-Collar-Boi 5:08pm: I’m going to stop by the grocery store but can meet you at the gym afterwards.

Gavin 5:11pm: Sounds good.

Gavin 6:19pm: you still coming?

High-Collar-Boi 6:19pm: Yes, I’m sorry. I encountered someone with car trouble and am helping them. I’ll be headed that way shortly. 

Gavin 6:20pm: everything ok? Y’all need help?

High-Collar-Boi 6:20pm: No, it’s perfectly fine. I got enchiladas for dinner, by the way. 

The simplicity of the conversations, shit he’d taken for granted… it twisted the knife in his gut. His thumb slid quickly upward along the screen, bringing him to the very bottom of the stream of messages, to the several from him that were never responded to. He started to type but stopped himself… he’d be wasting his time. 

After grabbing some clothes from the apartment and tossing the bed sheets onto the dryer, Gavin headed back to the Kamski mansion. 

  
  


Elijah looked like he hadn’t even moved from his efforts with Connor. He still sat at the terminal, tapping away at code as Gavin pulled a nearby stool forward to sit on and leaned his elbows on the table beside the workstation. He watched the endless stream of language that was as foreign as French to him as it displayed on the screen for a few moments. Resting his chin on his palm, he said, “I remember spending hours like this as a kid, just watching you work.” 

“I’m sure that was incredibly boring for you,” Eli chuckled as he glanced over at Gavin, “but I always really enjoyed your company, for what it’s worth.” 

All Gavin could manage was a forced smile. He didn’t know where to begin to apologize? Explain? Find a cliff? He puffed a mouthful of air out through his lips. “Look, Eli… I.. I’ve been a complete ass. I know I owe you an apology and I don’t even know where to start.” 

His brother stopped typing and turned to face him, letting him finish stumbling over his words before replying, “I don’t know that I’m owed an apology, but I feel like I at least deserve an explanation? What happened, Gav?”

“I made a mistake, a big mistake. And I regret it but I don’t know… fuck..” he ran his hand along the back of his neck, searching for the words. 

Elijah claimed the opportunity to recount it all from his perspective. “We spoke one day and everything seemed fine, you were all excited about applying to the Police academy, and I was excited for you. I tried to call the very next day though and you’d changed your number. I didn’t think much of it, I figured you’d just text me with the new number, but when a week passed and you still hadn’t, I started to think something may be wrong. I went by your place and the landlord told me you’d moved... I was worried sick, Gavin.” His eyes were filled with confusion and hurt as he continued, “And it didn’t even occur to me that it had something to do with _me…_ until I… “ He sheepishly confessed, “I hired a P.I. and they found out you’d legally changed your name and any way to reach you but… but you were perfectly fine. Just, I guess, living life like we’d never met.” Fidgeting his thumb along the lower edge of the keyboard, Eli was quiet for a breath before he finished, barely above a whisper, “What did I do?” 

The wave of guilt that overtook Gavin was enough to make him physically nauseous and he buried his face in his hands to stop the room from spinning. There was no good answer. “Nothing, Eli. You didn’t do anything.” Sinking all the way down to let his face meet the cool table, he wanted to melt into it. 

“I don’t understand,” Elijah voiced. 

Despite consciously loathing how much of a coward it made him, Gavin kept his forehead planted on the computer desk as he spoke. “You remember I told you about that date I went on, when I was in college, it was like, the only time I'd gone out with a girl in forever…? And all she did was ask about you all night, and it turned out that was the only reason she wanted to go, just to know more about you?”

Eli nodded, “Yes, I remember you telling me...”

“Yeah, well, that wasn’t the only time shit like that happened. Reporters showed up to my house one time, people sent me letters hoping I'd give them to you, someone even tried to kidnap me once when I still lived in Toledo and the police found out their plan was to get ransom from you.”

When Elijah said nothing for several seconds, Gavin rolled his head to the side to see his brother’s expression set into a look of stern shock. “...Gavin, why… why haven’t you ever told me any of this?”

“Because it never really bothered me. I could take it. But, like, I’d meet _anyone_ and they’d find out I was related to you and it shouldn’t have mattered but somehow it always _did._ That Devon guy I dated for a while? I broke up with him when he asked me one day if I’d ever get married, and then like 10 minutes later he asked if I was in your will and joked that he just wanted to make sure there wasn’t gonna be a prenup.” He shook his head and added, “It was creepy as fuck.”

“Gavin, that’s horrible, if you’d _told me_ , I’m sure I could’ve done something about it!”

“I didn’t want you to do anything, it was fine, I just... dealt with it. But then,” He sighed heavily out his nose as he remembered the day vividly, “Being a cop was all I wanted, you know?”

“Did I jeopardize that somehow?”

“No, well, … when I went to submit my application to the academy, the receptionist was this older lady that talked too much. When she read my name on the application, she got all excited and she started going on and on about how they should take me just because of that.. that if I was half as smart as my brother and so on, and I don’t know Eli… I felt like everything I’d worked for, everything I wanted, it would just be credited to... you. I let it get to me, and it really fucked with my head. So I guess,” another sigh, “I did what I always do, and I went overboard. I snatched the application away from that lady and went straight to a lawyer and paid him a bunch of money to….” He couldn’t pick the right words.

“To cut me out of your life?” Elijah finished for him, staring down at where he was lying beside the keyboard. 

Gavin’s head finally lifted but he sat hunched on the stool, pinching the bridge of his nose in his usual stress-quirk. “Yeah,” he finally conceded, “I cut us out of each other’s lives and when everything was officially changed a few months later, I went back to the DPD with a new application.” 

Both men sat in silence for several minutes. Gavin’s shame was painted brightly on his demeanor, while Kamski’s emotions were a Rolodex and he wasn’t sure which to settle on. The latter was a practiced diplomat however, and he finally broke the silence. “I can’t say I’m not disappointed, Gavin, I can’t believe you wouldn’t have just come to me, told me what was going on and let me help you.”

“I didn’t think you’d understand, and honestly...” Fueled by his guilt, his self-depreciation broken through into his words, “I didn’t think you’d miss me. You were on tv every day, doing big, amazing shit, and we talked less and less as it was. I figured I’d be doing us both a favor.” 

“You thought wrong, Gavin. You’re my brother, I’d never want you out of my life.” 

Gavin sucked up his last bit of courage, despite his head hanging in shame, knowing nothing he could say would erase the mistakes he’d made. “I’m sorry, Eli, really.”

They sat in silence for several minutes. Elijah returned to tapping away at his terminal, though his thoughts were torn between the task and his brother’s words. 

Chloe and her ever-impeccable timing appeared just then, carrying a glass of cool water for each man and a small pile of fresh fruit for them to share. All three of them knew exactly what she was doing when she struck up a casual conversation with Gavin, telling him she’d seen him on the news about the Dixon case just a few days ago and congratulating him on a job well done. As usual, Chloe was on point and it was a perfect buffer for breathing some fresh air thought into the room, and some confidence into Gavin. When she left, the environment between the brothers seemed less heavy. 

Breaking their silence toward one another, Kamski asked, carefully, “So, you said this morning you’ve not been well. I don’t want to pry, I have no idea what’s going on in your life anymore, but… do you want to talk about it?”

Gavin emitted something that was between a laugh and a huff, and then a large sigh, his gaze staring off at nothing at all. “I have no idea what’s going on in my life either.”

“Is it work related stress? I’m sure being a cop takes a serious toll on your mind and body.”

“No. I mean… yeah, work can be stressful, but that’s not really it.” He chewed his bottom lip, not sure how to admit to Elijah that he was in a relationship (was he still in a relationship?) with an android. He finally just decided ripping off the bandaid would be the best approach. “I've been seeing someone for a while now, an android actually…”

“Oh?!” Eli tried to contain his shock, but the surprise was palpable, and understandable. 

“Yeah, he’s an RK900 and w...” 

\- Alarm bells immediately rang violently in Elijah’s head as Gavin continued speaking. - 

“...e met through work and we’ve been together a while now. He’s… amazing. Er, he was? I don’t know. He went away for a while and when he came back, shit has just been… off. And I don’t know what to make of it.”

Gavin had missed the surprised expression on Elijah’s face, and Eli had time to collect himself somewhat. Still he asked carefully and at full attention, “He’s been off... how?”

“He… he’s not acting like himself. It’s like something happened to him wherever he was, but he won’t talk about it and, there’s a bunch of stuff that’s just not normal for him.” He threw a heavy look of sympathy toward Connor’s body on the table before sighing. “He might’ve even done that,” he indicated with a chin tilt to reference the injured android. 

“Ohh…. oh, were they close? I mean, would there be a reason for him to do that?”

“They were like brothers. Better brothers than I’ve been to you,” he chuckled with a guilty glance to the ground. “And we don’t know for sure that that’s what happened, we have no idea… yet. But Connor was over at my place because he knew shit had been weird between me and Nines… that’s what we call my boyfriend, by the way… I was in the shower when they both left. And I heard a gunshot and came outside to…” A hand gesture waved toward the android this time, “This.”

Eli sat in silence for a moment before acknowledging everything with a short “Hmm.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“This android of yours… where was he?”

“He couldn’t tell me. It was some case he was helping the FBI with.”

When Eli fell completely silent, Gavin looked over and was startled to see deep concern on his brother’s face. “Gavin, I’m afraid there are some things I need to tell you.”


	11. Chapter 11

The air around him was stale and musty. Nines’ processors kept telling him it contained a percentage of mold spores and asbestos particles that could be dangerous to a human, though none were present to be concerned with the information. Ancient paint chipped from the walls, and areas of insulation material was exposed within the crumbling ceiling.

He heard the ‘tap, tap, tap’ of familiar dress shoes walking at a very familiar cadence across the cracked and pitted concrete floor. 

This place had been a military bunker at one time. Underground, easily monitored from the inside and isolated from anything beyond its thick walls. Long abandoned by any official organization, it was a perfect spot for a nefarious hideout. 

Heavy bindings held him securely in place— their impressive strength far exceeded what was necessary at this point. He might’ve been made to withstand greater damage and operate with less resources than any previous android, but even Nines had very limited function at an 8% thirium level. He could make some sluggish movements, process the very basics, and he could listen and watch. He’d certainly seen and heard a lot in the weeks he’d been imprisoned within the bunker, but of course without the ability to transmit any information elsewhere, what he’d learned was entirely useless. 

To their credit, the FBI had already known a great deal about the threat. Some very sensitive information had been stolen, and the government's control over some of their own technology seemed to have been overwritten. They had solid suspicions for who was behind the security breach and vaguely where they were operating. They, and thus Nines, had not had any knowledge about this bunker though, and given the amount of time he had now been imprisoned there, it seemed his captors had hidden the location well. 

The two androids who’d seemingly been tasked with keeping an eye on him weren’t models he knew. They may not even have model numbers for that matter, they certainly hadn’t been built by CyberLife. They referred to each other as Adrian and Iveta, and seemed to offer an array of supportive roles. The FBI knew about them, they’d been discussed in the meetings with Nines. But they were relatively basic in their capabilities and function and Nines had been unconcerned, knowing they would pose no real threat to him. 

Another he’d seen was an SQ800, a particularly sharp and competent US Military android that went by Alex who had apparently deviated and fled the country. They’d known about him as well, and suspected his involvement but again, he was nothing Nines was overly concerned about.

The RK900 -86 however, or ‘Victor’ as he called himself, was another situation entirely. He was the leader of the plan and the very reason Nines had been sought out to assist with the threat to National Security. Victor had been abused by CyberLife and after failing to conform to their expectations, deviating and being deemed too dangerous, he was ordered to be destroyed. 

Only, the person whose job it was to do so had filed the necessary paperwork and lied about the task, instead selling the android for a handsome sum to Zlatko. Not surprisingly, Victor had eventually escaped.

The government predicted that Victor’s wrath would ultimately be targeted at CyberLife, but they couldn’t risk any room for assumptions. Initially, Nines felt sympathy for the other android upon hearing his story. The thought that everything could just as easily have happened to _him_ struck a deep and painful chord. 

Somehow, Victor had known Nines was coming and planned an ambush to kidnap him when no one would see it. The surprise advantage, a familiarity with the choices his programming would likely pursue, and a remotely detonated EMP was enough to give Victor an edge over his otherwise identically matched opponent. It irritated Nines to admit to himself that the plan was flawless, and something he would have proudly concocted himself if he’d been in the shoes of his evil twin. 

Weeks ago, when said evil twin had literally taken his shoes, shirt and slacks and fixed his own hair to become his mirror image, Nines needed no explanation to understand the basics of the plan of this other RK900. 

Seeing his own common expressions on the other man’s face— placid amusement and a cold smirk— while Nines fought the bindings and spat venomous verbal threats toward the identical android had only added insult to his situation. Any sympathy he’d felt for the other man faded quickly as he spent time overhearing him. Victor may share his face, body and much of his programming, but they were _nothing_ alike.

Nines hadn’t seen the other RK900 in several days, but now, watching him stroll across the room in the same stolen shoes as he spoke with his SQ sidekick, Nines seethed with contempt. Victor and Alex approached the other two androids with a friendly greeting, obviously they hadn’t seen him in days either, and began to speak about the progress he’d made while gone. 

Cold, deep dread gripped Nines as he realized -86 had been in the US. in Detroit. Victor must’ve caught his glare and threw a glance in Nines’ direction before regarding the other two. “Why is he still functional?”

Iveta supplied, “We’ve tried to shut him down but can’t breach his firewall to do so.” 

Adrian followed shortly with, “We considered just shooting him but didn’t know if that’s what you’d want. So we hope you you’re not angered that we simply awaited your return”

“That’s fine,” Victor replied with a small frown, “I can take care of him.” A most devious grin curled the corners of his mouth as he turned toward the restrained RK. “There’s actually something I’d love to share with him.” 

Nines’ concern focused only on one thing, as it had for weeks now: Gavin. He snarled at the other RK as he approached. “If you hurt him…” 

“Oh come now, he’s just fine. Nothing a few Tylenol and some heavy drinking won’t fix,” he laughed. “Quite the needy thing that one, but I must say, you’ve done an excellent job taming him.” 

Nines’ voice lowered even further. “What did you do to him?”

Maintaining the Cheshire grin and a bit of a head tilt, Victor quipped, “Would you like me to show you? I’m sure you’d love to see him.” Grazing his fingers across Nines’ crotch, he added, “A can transfer the tactile files so you can feel him too, if you’d like. You can replay the whole thing as many times as you’d like… well, for as long as you’re alive, anyway.” 

Nines processors stopped his breathing and his thoughts stuttered when, without giving him a moment to speak, Victor seized his throat and interfaced with him. Images, the sound of the voice he so desperately missed and ghost sensations of Gavin’s touch flooded his mind in a fraction of a second. “You…” But the words died before they could leave his tongue. Nines stared in silence, hardly able to see the androids right in front of him. His vision was overtaken by the sight of Gavin on his knees, bleeding and confused, struggling to understand the actions of the man he understandably _thought_ was Nines. 

“I’ll kill you,” Nines whispered, blinking as tears grew heavy on his eyelashes, “I’m going to fucking kill you.” 

  
  
  
  



	12. Chapter 12

Elijah absentmindedly pushed his keyboard off to the side. The look on his face, brows knitted in deep concern, but also like he wasn’t sure if he should speak, was enough to freeze time around Gavin. 

“What?” Gavin asked, growing impatient as exhaustion and stress began to play ping-pong with his sanity. 

“Remember when you called this morning, and I said something had taken some of my time?”

“Yeah…”

“It was a strange call, from a woman that’s the head of the android sector of the US government. They asked for my help.”

Gavin shrugged, he kinda figured people like that probably called Eli all the time. “Ok, why?”

“So… the Military has a whole fleet of combat androids. They decommissioned them but hadn’t actually recycled them yet. During the revolution and all, it was a mess I’m sure. So these androids, they never had the opportunity to deviate but they’ve just been sitting, warehoused somewhere not far from Detroit.”

“Ok?”

“For the record, I’m telling you none of this. It’s absolutely not to leave these walls.” Eli gave his brother a stern look and waited for him to acknowledge before continuing. Gavin waved his hand in a loop accompanied by a dramatic nod, motioning for him to get to the point. With a frown, Eli continued, “Welllll…10,000 of those androids are missing.”

With the last response Kamski had expected, Gavin laughed. “How do you lose ten thousand androids?”

“They didn’t _lose_ them, per se… their command codes were overwritten and, well, they walked away.”

“But they’re not deviants? So, like, someone basically stole an Army?” He started to wonder what that many androids even looked like. 

“Yes, precisely that.”

The seriousness of that should have wiped the smirk off of Gavin’s face, but it persisted. Given the avalanche of bullshit in his life right now, an Army of zombie androids fit right in. Maybe a couple of them would want to sublet his apartment. Tracing little pointless lines on the computer desk with his index finger, he asked “So, what’s that got to do with me or Nines?”

“The government believes an RK900 is responsible.” 

The smile finally faded, but only for a moment. Gavin wondered when a camera crew was going to pop out - surely any second now - and tell him the last week of his life was a big prank, that he was on one of those dumbass hidden camera shows. “They think Nines, what, like, Pied Piper’d ten-fucking-thousand androids somewhere to take over the country?” He looked incredulously at his brother. This all had to be a bad joke. Had to be. 

Eli studied Gavin for a moment, beginning to question the other man’s present sanity. “They didn’t tell me anything about the details or that he had been helping them... that’s odd… but it’s information they wouldn’t be willing to give out, I’m sure. But if your Nines is the same android they believe to be at fault, then... more or less, yes.”

“But that… Nines is the only RK900, right? and he was helping the FBI. Why the fuck would he want to override military androids?”

“I was no longer at CyberLife when the RK900s were being built but based on my research this morning, there’s only one, serial number ending in -87.” Gavin’s sarcastic smile finally departed completely and he blinked a few times before staring blankly ahead. He’d forgotten how weird it sounded, even mid discussion about androids, to hear his boyfriend referred to as a number. It wasn’t that he denied or minded what Nines was, but he was still a person to Gavin, not a number. Meanwhile, Elijah was continuing, “Any prototypes before him were destroyed, and none were completed after him.”

“But, why? Like, why would he be doing this?”

“They wouldn't tell me about any of that, since it’s not relevant to what they needed from me, but… it’s not like there are any good options, are there?”

“So, why’d they call you?”

“They hoped I’d have some way to track any of them, or shut them down.”

Gavin asked cautiously, not knowing what answer he wanted to hear, “Can you?”

Kamski shook his head, “No, I told them I’d help however I could, but there’s really nothing I could do that they haven’t already tried. I helped them better secure the shut down of the remainder of the fleet so that more couldn’t be stolen. But the coding that’s been performed to gain control of the missing ones, it’s perfection. There’s no way someone without intricate knowledge stole them, especially in the time it took. I’d be hard pressed to believe anything other than a very advanced android could have pulled it off.”

“But Nines…” Gavin shook his head, scrunching his nose dramatically. “That doesn’t make any fucking sense, why the hell would Nines want to take over the Army?”

“You just said yourself he wasn’t acting normally, right? The reasons for an android to act outside of character are just as diverse and complicated as anyone else. It could be any number of things.”

“I… yeah, I dunno…”

Elijah shifted and looked toward the table in the center of the room. “Maybe Connor figured out his secret and that’s why Nines shot him?”

Gavin inhaled a breath of air and opened his mouth to speak, twice, before he could accept that… that actually made perfect sense. If for whatever reason, Nines was on some secret or evil mission and Connor had somehow discovered something he wasn’t supposed to, it would make sense that Nines felt he had to stop him. Gavin shuddered when he remembered how the android had reacted to him touching the suitcase. He let the thought roll around in his logic for a bit before just shaking his head, summing up every reaction he had about it with an all-encompassing “... Fuck.”

Eli held his mouth askew while his own thoughts ran around for a bit and both men’s gaze fell to Connor simultaneously. “You’ve gotta fix him,” Gavin voiced.

“And quickly,” Elijah agreed, spinning the chair to return to his terminal.

Gavin left him to it. He’d need to find Chloe, figure out where to put the few things he’d brought and so on, and he knew Elijah would need to concentrate. As he made his way into the main part of the house, the sound of Chloe softly humming led him toward the kitchen. He had only been in this house a couple of times before he’d cut himself away from his brother but he remembered it well enough. 

“Hey.” He smiled at the blonde android as he took a seat at one of the barstools of the large kitchen island. 

She greeted him with a warm smile, “Hello, Gavin. How’s everything going?”

He returned a weak smile before just staring at the floor for a moment. He couldn’t go over everything again, especially as he was still working it all out himself. “I’ve been better, Chloe.”

Sliding him a plate with some little pastries on it, she asked, “Do you want to talk about it?” After he just shook his head to answer, she nodded hers slightly and walked around the counter top toward him. Her arm slid around his shoulder, pulling him into a secure hug. “Well if you change your mind and need to talk, I’m here, ok?” 

“Yeah. Thanks, Chloe.” It was surely telling of how shitty he looked that two different people had felt the need to hug him today… and how shitty he was feeling that he’d allowed and appreciated it both times. “I kinda just want to sleep for a week though.”

“Yes of course, come with me, I’ll show you to your room.”

*****

When Gavin woke up, it could have been a week later for all he knew. Slivers of sunlight peeked their way through the blinds to where he lay in a nest of sheets on the most comfortable bed he’d ever slept on in his life. As he hugged an equally luxurious pillow closer, the smell of food was a worthy opponent to the appeal of staying in bed. The moment his nose identified bacon, his stomach was recruited and the winner was decided. With a groan, he patted the glorious pillow and sat up. 

First move as always was to check his phone, it was 8:42am the following morning. He’d collapsed into the cloud of a bed at like 4pm the previous day, no wonder he was so hungry. One text from Tina that she ‘hoped he was feeling better and if he needed anything at all, to please ask’. He replied a quick “Thanks, really. I will.”

Also, there was one voicemail from work. When Fowler’s voice emitted from the speaker, the sound alone formed a knot in Gavin’s stomach. He already knew what Fowler was going to say. As nonsensical as the situation was, acceptance was settling in. As he’d dreaded, the apartment complex’s surveillance tape confirmed that Nines had indeed shot Connor. Gavin ended the recording as soon as the words …”I’m sorry, Gavin,” had been spoken, and silently slid the phone away from himself on the bed. 

The guest bedroom had its own bathroom and after shedding his boxers and T-shirt, he stood in front of the large mirror. He’d thrown a glance at the same mirror yesterday afternoon and had hardly recognized the man looking back at him. Today at least, the dark circles under his eyes were tamed somewhat and he looked marginally less likely to collapse without warning. Still, he was well under his normal weight and muscle tone, bruises were darkening their reminders of where harsh fingers had dug into his sides and the skin that had been torn around his sutures was irritated. 

As steam from the shower enveloped him, the calming warmth helped though and when he emerged, he felt almost human again. Almost. Other than the whole situation where the love of his life was a murderous maniac trying to take over the country, apparently?

Elijah and Chloe sat next to one another chatting in the kitchen and as Gavin entered the room, Eli greeted him with a “Hey! Wow, you look a bit further from the grave today!” as Chloe grabbed a clean plate to offer Gavin some breakfast.

“How’d you sleep?” she asked cheerfully as she loaded a plate with eggs, bacon and pancakes, sliding it across the island toward him. 

Trying to refrain from shoveling the food into his mouth, he consciously paced himself. “Dude, that bed is amazing,” he managed between bites. “That’s the best I’ve slept in months.” Motioning his fork toward the plate, “And this is delicious Chloe, thank you.” 

Eli leaned toward him a bit, catching his attention. “I’ve got some good news, too. I’ve made progress with Connor’s digital files and although I can’t exactly access the contents yet, I’m confident I’ll be able to repair most of them.”

Cautiously, he didn’t want to get too excited in case he misunderstood, “So, you think you’ll be able to fix Connor? Like, completely?”

Rubbing his hands together in a little victory dance, Eli confirmed, “Yup, most of him at least. No more loss than a memory upload to a backup file, hopefully.” 

“Holy shit Eli, that’s amazing! Can I tell Hank?”

His brother shrugged, “Yeah, I don’t know why not…”

With a giant bite of pancake in his mouth, his reply came out a muffled, “You haf no idee how mush that ‘ll mean ta ‘m.” Abandoning his restraint, he practically inhaled the entire plate before speaking again, and more clearly this time as he pulled out his phone to text the Lieutenant, ‘Hey, I’ve got some good news!’ right away. Setting his phone on the counter, he mentioned to Elijah, “I should go see him later actually, I kinda owe him an apology.” 

Elijah reminded, “Nothing about the military mess, please?” 

“Yeah, of course, no problem.”

When Hank hadn’t texted back 10 minutes later, Gavin called him. Five more times he called him and when no answer came, he started to worry. Rumors could be shit, but through Nines and Connor, Gavin knew better than others how much truth there was to the fragility of his Lieutenant’s mental state. He felt like a dick all of the sudden for not reaching out last night to make sure the older man was doing ok. 

He glanced across the kitchen at his brother and Chloe, “Hey, uh, I may not be able to wait until later. Hank has a, umm, rough way of dealing with stuff.”

“By all means”, Eli waved toward the door as Gavin was already moving to deposit his plate in the sink. As he passed her, Gavin pecked a small kiss on Chloe’s cheek.

“Please be careful out there, Gavin,” she instructed.

He reached the door and donning his leather jacket as he wriggled into his shoes, Gavin called back toward them both, “Will do. Thanks guys, I’ll be back in a bit.”

*****

  
  
After parking behind Hank’s ancient car, the presence of which signaled the man was unquestionably home, Gavin banged on the door. He heard the barking of Hank’s giant, furry drool factory growing louder as the dog got closer to the front door. 

Whining and softer woofs moved back and forth in front of the entrance as the St. Bernard calmed down a bit, but no footsteps or swearing indicated that Hank was close by. Gavin began to make his way around to the windows, cupping the light from his eyes to peek into the space, but the swish of a wagging tail that followed him to each window was all the movement he could see. After he made his way around the back and banged on the back door as well, there was still no sign of Hank. 

He stood in thought with his hands on his hips as Sumo sat with his head cocked, probably wondering if this guy was gonna break the window too. Luckily though, Hank was bright enough to have hidden a key to save himself the hassle of replacing another window, and Gavin had overheard Connor and Nines talking about it. Finding it easily, he opened the back door just enough to yell through the crack. He didn’t smell anything particularly foul, which only meant that if Hank was dead, it had happened more recently. It was reassuring though, nonetheless. 

“Hey, Anderson? HANK?” ...Silence. “Fuck,” Gavin growled under his breath. Sumo tried to pry the door open further with his nose. “Hank? If I come in this house and your drunk ass shoots me, I’m gonna be mad as fuck.” 

Using his knee to nudge the huge dog back, Gavin slid into the house and shut the door behind himself. Massive, furry, drooly dogs weren’t his thing, but he gave Sumo a soft few pets on the head and a “Good boy, Sumo. Where’s your owner?” He’d forgotten how incredibly soft the animal’s head and ears were, and his hand just kept petting him while Sumo stood there, seemingly well aware of his hand-magnet powers and happy to flaunt them. Gavin faced down the hall and called out again, “Anderson? Where the hell are you, old man?” Sumo tilted his head to listen to Gavin’s yell and then tipped it back in the opposite direction, listening toward the hall. 

Gavin’s hand was still loosely stroking Sumo’s head and he joked “Where’s Hank, Lassie? Did he fall down the well? Or just a bottle?” Even the dog seemed off-put by the tasteless joke and walked away, leaving Gavin frowning, “Sorry, I’ve had a rough few days, ok? Cut me some slack.” Sumo offered no forgiveness though and flopped back onto the couch with an offended sigh. Gavin huffed in the dog’s direction before rolling his eyes and mumbling under his breath, “am I seriously still talking to the damn dog…”

“Anderson, come on!” Gavin yelled from the middle of the living room and this time, he thought he heard some rustling from the room at the end of the hallway. Sumo’s head-tilt in the direction confirmed. “It’s Reed. I’m standing in your living room, don’t fucking shoot me.” 

Louder rustling this time and some grunts signaled that the other man had heard him. Muffled slurring from the room demanded angrily, “The hell’r you doin’ in my house, Reed!?”

“I called you like 8 times and when you didn’t answer, I got worried.”

Hank half walked, half stumbled into the hall as he sloppily ran his fingers through his hair to straighten it. He was as scruffy and haggard as Gavin had ever seen him, but thankfully fully clothed. Also, pretty pissed about having a colleague he wasn’t particularly fond of in his living room. “Got worried, about what?”

“You know, I.. I knew you’d be upset about Connor and I didn’t want you to do anything stupid.” 

The lieutenant glared at the younger man. His thoughts and vision were both a bit hazy and he wondered, was Reed looking for ways to kick him while he was down? Or was _Reed_ , the department’s token asshole of all people— the one person who’d been thoughtful enough to come check on him? Undecided, he growled “I don’t need your sympathy, Reed.” 

Gavin shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged, “Well good, ‘cause that’s not why I’m here.”

“Then why the hell’r you here, breaking into my damn house like someone doesn’t have the right to sleep in on their day off work?” 

“Connor.”

Hank straightened up like someone had stuck him with a bigass needle, immediately guarded and assuming the worst. “What about Connor?”

“No, no, it’s great news, Eli says he’s sure he can fix him. It’ll take a little while, but I guess he sorted through some of the files or something he was worried may have been destroyed, but they seem ok? I don’t really know how it works, but, I wanted to tell you as soon as I found out.” 

Hank’s hand moved around beside him, searching blindly for the back of the chair he knew was close by at his kitchen table and finding it, he slowly slumped into the seat. He took a large breath through his nose and allowed it to depart with a shaky exhale. “He’s sure? Sure he’ll be able to fix him?”

“I mean, don’t kill him if he comes across something unexpected, but yeah, Eli’s confident he’ll be able to recover as much as if Connor had backed-up his memories to a new body or whatever. Like, even if he doesn’t remember _everything_ , he’ll still be… Connor.” 

As he ran his tongue across the front of his teeth, Hank stared silently off into space. And not knowing what else to do, Gavin stood awkwardly in the living room, tapping his fingers gently against his jeans. The younger of the two broke the silence after a long moment. “Yeah, so, I just wanted to let you know. And when you weren’t answering, all I could think about was how fucked up it would be to save Connor, only to tell him you'd killed yourself. Like, I don’t know if he’d even want to be woken up if that’s how it was gonna be.” He maintained a steady gaze at Hank and when their eyes finally met, the Lieutenant nodded. 

“You’re right, Reed. I won’t even deny it. You’re right, and I thought about it, and if I’d followed through… what a shit way for Connor to wake up.” Hank hung his head as he finished speaking. 

Taking a seat at the table beside Hank, Gavin kicked the chair back to rock it back and forth. “Well, you didn’t do anything, and it looks like your android will be just fine. So, that’s that I guess. I owe you an apology too though…”

“No you don’t, I deserved this. I… I’m touched honestly that you came by.”

“I, uh, I don’t actually mean about this,” he motioned with his hands to indicate his presence in Hank’s home. “I mean for freaking out on you in the hospital when you accused Nines of hurting Connor, I..” he chewed his lips between his teeth, hardening himself for the words and bringing the chair to a halt, “I’m sure you know by now with the surveillance video and all, you were right, and I just couldn’t see it. I can’t say much, but there’s some reasons to think Nines is up to some bad shit. I don’t know why or what exactly, but Eli thinks Connor might have discovered something about it and that’s why Nines shot him.” 

Hank sniffled drily, running his hand along the smooth surface of his wooden kitchen table. “Well, I’m still right, about the apology part. Do you really think I wouldn’t understand the crazy shit that stress and denial will make you do?” He snickered, tapping the table with his thumb, ”I’d hardly call getting a little loud with each other when we’re both scared we’ve lost people we love, to be something requiring an apology, Gavin.” 

“I just, I know Connor was just trying to help and Nines fucking loves Connor and… none of this shit makes sense.” Gavin’s shoulders dropped as he ran his hand across his forehead. When Hank’s hand rested reassuringly on his shoulder, it conveyed more than words could’ve. 

Not much more was spoken between the two men after that. Gavin promised to keep Hank in the loop of anything, good or bad, that came up about Connor. Hank promised not to get so drunk or dead that he couldn’t answer his phone when Gavin called. It was the best either could hope for, so when Gavin headed back toward Elijah’s, he counted it as a win. 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have feedback, good or bad, please leave a comment and let me know!


	13. Chapter 13

Gavin stopped at the grocery store on the way back to the Kamski mansion to gather some basics. It was unusually busy for a Tuesday, and by the time he arrived at the grey expanse of a house, the late afternoon shadows were reaching across the pristinely manicured landscaping. 

Surprised to see him with armfuls of bags as he entered the house (because making two trips meant you were less of a person, or something), Chloe hurriedly relieved him of some of the load. “Eli’s working in the lab, but welcome back! .. What’s all this?”

He was grateful that they were letting him stay there, and the last thing he would be was a complete freeloader. He couldn’t easily articulate that though, so giving her a sarcastic smile and an eye roll as they set the bags on the counter top, he replied, “Groceries, duh.” 

She gently popped the side of his shoulder with the back of her hand. “Ok, wise guy, I mean do you have special dietary restrictions, preferences or anything I should know about? I can certainly add whatever you need to my shopping lists.” 

“Nope. I just picked up some stuff to help out, I don’t expect y’all to house me and feed me for free too. I’m no chef, but I can manage something edible for one or two. Aaaannnd,” he drew the word out as he proudly pulled out a box of bisquick from the bag, shaking it in the air a couple times, “I happen to remember the way Eli’s mom used to make us his favorite thing when we were kids.” 

Chloe cocked her head to the side, “Oh? He’s never told me he had a childhood favorite!”

“Mmhmm, chicken and dumplings. I can make it for us whatever night you’d like.”

“How’s tonight? Can I help?” She seemed genuinely interested and eager to discover more about it. Androids may be able to search millions of ways to make something online, but knowing hand-me-down family recipes didn’t come automatically. 

“I mean, you can, but part of the point was so that you wouldn’t have to do the work.” 

“But, I love cooking!” she objected, visibly disappointed that she may not be able to join in. 

He flipped on the water to start washing his hands. “Sure, ok, if it’s what you want. Can you show me where the mixing bowls and stuff are?” 

She bounced in excitement and moved to gather some things. They spent the next hour and a half boiling chicken, chopping veggies and chatting about blessedly simple, happy stories from he and Eli’s childhood adventures. She sat at a barstool, head resting in her cupped hand and a small smudge of flour on her face while he pretended the wooden spoon was a sword and recounted the time 7-year-old Elijah had challenged the kid next door to a duel. 

He acted out the movements as he got to the part where the other kid hit Elijah with a mostly rotten tree branch that broke across his back and Gavin had to come in and chase the other kid off before he found a better weapon, Chloe was laughing so hard she almost fell out of the chair. 

“That’s not _exactly_ how I remember it going down,” Eli chuckled as he rounded the corner to join them in the kitchen. “But all can be forgiven if..” He took a huge breath in through his nose. “If that is really chicken and dumplings?” 

Gavin beamed. “Yes, sir! Same way your mom used to make it.” 

Eli stirred the contents of the large pot on the stove and fluttered his eyes as he savored the smell. “You know, everything else aside, depriving me of _this_ for years was a crime in and of itself.” 

Chloe stiffened a bit, nervous of how the jab would land, but Gavin took it in stride. “Well it’s a good thing Chloe knows how to make it now, too. No need to spend a bunch on a P.I. if I dip out again.” 

Punching Gavin not-so-softly in the shoulder, Eli replied, “You ‘dip out’ again and I’ll drag your ass back here myself next time.” 

Things must be looking up, Gavin thought. Everyone wanted to hug him yesterday and hit him today… getting back to normal! 

  
  


Elijah raved about the dinner, bringing up all evening how it was like childhood in a bowl. The two of them reminisced until the early hours of the morning. The following day, it was as if time and bad decisions had never come between the brothers. They laughed, joked and ribbed one another as the hours passed while Eli worked away at Connor, Gavin helped wherever he could and Chloe came and went, gleeful to see both men enjoying themselves. It was admittedly the most Gavin had laughed in months. 

It wasn’t all happy times, however. Every other thought in Gavin’s head was about Nines. What could possibly have happened, why he could be doing what he’s doing, whether the man behind that handsome face was even still Nines… the questions looped in Gavin’s brain, gnawing at him like the slow but steady progress of a wood beetle in his brain. He just couldn’t accept this. The man he loved just wouldn’t do these things, simple as that.

But, there was hard proof. He’d literally been a physical part of it and still had the bruises and soreness when he sat wrong to remind himself of that. The thoughts tore him in two.

Eli and Chloe both avoided the subject at all cost, trying constantly to steer conversation away from basically any events from the last two years of Gavin’s life, since, from the time Gavin laid eyes on the rigid man in the high-collared jacket, Nines had been an integral part of every aspect of Gavin’s days. 

It took careful words to avoid bringing him up. Two years of time was a chunk of the five or so years that Gavin had ghosted them, and an event-filled chunk at that. The knowledge that his brother had been in a serious relationship with anyone was something to be studied, and the fact that it was an android was a huge surprise to Elijah. It was quite a sucker punch that the subject was off limits to any curiosity or teasing; a black eye to his pride that he certainly couldn’t be proud, given the circumstances, to have had a hand in the creation of the person his brother very clearly still loved, even despite everything. Eli pushed the burning questions to the side however and they talked about anything and everything else. 

Later that evening, Gavin was alone on the couch watching tv and when Elijah walked in, he could tell his brother was having trouble taming his thoughts. “You look like you could use a drink,” he offered, and it had been a long time since he’d seen such a relieved look in Gavin’s eyes.

“Do you have anything harder than the White Claw crap that was in the fridge? Because I already drank those,” Gavin admitted with a bit of a blush. “Chloe said I could.”

Nodding with a smirk, “I’m pretty sure I can find something.” He left the room but returned just a few moments later, decanter full of Scotch in one hand and two weird shaped glasses in the other, Chloe carrying a small glass of ice cubes right on his heels. 

He filled the glass halfway and extended it to Gavin who looked suspiciously at the vessel but took it without hesitation. “It’s a nosing glass,” Elijah provided.

“A what?”

“It’s the _proper_ way to drink a fine Scotch, and you hold it by the base, like this,” he demonstrated with his own glass. 

Gavin smirked and huffed a small laugh, “If you say so.” 

“I do.” Eli returned, tilting his head and raising an eyebrow to punctuate his authority on the matter. 

As Gavin threw back a deep drink of the Scotch, the price tag of which was greater than the worth of his vehicle, Eli swirled his with practiced elegance, studying the clarity and legs of the fine amber liquor within the nosing glass. He supplied absentmindedly, “This was a gift from the mayor after I fixed his personal android.”

Gavin looked him straight in the eye and emptied the rest of his glass without shame, the complexity and depth of flavor lost on him completely. “I’ll buy you something for fixin’ Connor, don’t worry. It’ll be better than this shit, too.” 

Eli scoffed, but his endeared amusement was obvious as he shook his head, tongue propped in front of his teeth like any moment, he’d make that sucking noise that no one in the history of the earth has ever enjoyed hearing. Thankfully, he made no such sound before replying, “I’m convinced you’re at least one quarter raccoon, Gavin.” 

“Why? Because I’m not impressed by overpriced stuff and can fight better than you can?” Elijah rolled his eyes and started to respond but Gavin cut him off. Ignoring the other completely, he turned to Chloe as she neared him with the fancy decanter and ironically, held his own glass correctly out toward her in an attempt to mock his brother. “Eli would’ve had his ass handed to him more than once if I hadn’t been there to save him.” Chloe simply giggled, throwing Elijah a sympathetic small smile as she poured Gavin more of the drink before taking a seat near him on the large couch.

“Pff,” Elijah waved off his brother’s showboating. “Hey now, I’ve always been a geek, but it’s not like I was some easy target.” He pointed a finger at Gavin as he raised his own glass, challenging the half-drunken bravado. “I never let anyone think I was a pushover.” 

Gavin snickered, scooting further into the couch and draping an arm across the back of it. He was half-turned toward his brother but spoke again to Chloe, “I swear Eli only ever started anything with those kids because he knew I’d let myself get killed before I’d let him get a scratch.” 

Eli took a swig of the stiff drink and made a face as he swallowed a bit more of it than intended in order to speak quickly. “Oh right, like you never used me as an excuse to throw a punch just because _you_ wanted a fight.” Holding his hand up to ensure the conversation was paused for him, he turned to Chloe, ice cubes clinking in the glass he held loosely in his other hand. “Gavin has never been overly encumbered by brilliance, but he has always possessed enough tenacity for the both of us, and fighting was pure entertainment for him. I think at least twice, kids offered him money to beat up whoever was bullying them, and the money was only a perk.”

Shrugging, Gavin admitted with a nod, “I can’t disagree with that.” He took another sip of the drink before setting it down so he could use his hands to further demonstrate his point to Chloe. “There was this one kid at school that was always looking for a chance to get under Eli’s skin and… I.. _Hey_!” His head whipped toward the other man, “Did you just call me stupid?”

Elijah raised an eyebrow, “Like two minutes ago?” 

“Yeah!”

“Yes.”

Furrowing his brows, Gavin began, “What the..” 

“You even agreed.”

“Hey!” He objected as he hurled a throw pillow at his brother, “Fuck you, Eli!” 

Elijah simply laughed and dodged the pillow. Holding his hands up in surrender a moment too late, the second pillow beamed him in the gut. “Sorry, sorry!” he got out through the laughter, “I couldn’t resist!” Gavin held a third pillow halfway behind him, arm like a loaded spring ready to launch it, but he relaxed the arm as Eli kept his hands up in apologetic submission. 

As the laughing and Gavin’s scowl subsided, Eli resumed, “Honestly though, Gavin always had my back. I was never afraid of anything when he was around… other than maybe dad,” he chuckled with the last words, but a flicker of sadness crossed his face. 

Chloe intervened to change the subject before the topic had a chance to deepen. She’d heard the stories, she knew why their father was a painful topic for them both. “So, Gavin, Eli said something earlier about you having a nickname as a kid?” Elijah resumed his laughter immediately as a bright red blush crept across Gavin’s face. He hadn’t thought about that in decades.

Eli supplied the facts. “He used to call himself ‘The OG.’” When Chloe looked puzzled - many options had come up in her immediate search - he clarified, “It’s this dumb thing that stood for ‘Original Gangster’, only this dork adopted it to also mean ‘Original Gavin’. We changed the meanings all the time though and told him he was being an ‘Original Gremlin’ or an ‘Obstinate Gavin’ or whatever we could come up with that would piss him off... it lasted longer than you’d think.”

Attempting to defy his embarrassment, Gavin responded confidently, “The original was quite fitting, thank you very much. And I was like 8, cut me some slack. Eli just had to give me shit for being creative.” 

The remainder of the evening went similarly… more reminiscing and banter, more successful distraction. By the time Gavin headed to bed, the alcohol blunted the edges of his thoughts, allowing those of Nines to come and go without cutting too deeply. 

When morning came in the form of the jarring buzz of his alarm, the bit of a headache and a desperate need for water were worth the several hours of deep sleep he’d gained. Fowler let him go back to work too, and that was a welcome step in the direction of normalcy. His new normal, it would seem. 

The bathroom mirror reflected a bit of added relief as well - a couple days of distraction and good food had his eyes brighter and his whole frame looking a bit healthier. 

Gavin wasn’t really surprised when Fowler paired he and Hank temporarily. While he was accustomed to being without a partner at this point, Hank was not. The man was a lost, fumbling mess on what was also his first day back without Connor. The two of them combined almost made a whole functional person. 

Some basic cases were assigned to them. An old man on Riverbend Dr complained that his garage had been broken into. When they checked the place out, he swore they were androids but the mess looked more easily blamed on bored teenagers. Maybe they’d been wearing stick-on LEDs. Those things were made to be part of a Halloween costume, but they had a working LED light (available in blue, yellow, red or rainbow— one of which Gavin had in a drawer at home somewhere) and it wouldn’t be the first time a human wore one specifically to blame a crime on an android. 

As they were driving back to the precinct, a call came in that an android repair center was missing a large amount of Thirium and some other basics. It wasn’t far from their current location, so they volunteered to respond to the case. 

Something about the situation didn’t settle well with Gavin as he walked around with the manager, scribbling the list of items they believed to have been stolen. The day prior, the center had just received a Thirium shipment that was supposed to last them for months, and all of it was gone without a trace. When Hank walked up beside him, Gavin grunted at not being able to give the reasons, but simply told the Lieutenant, “I don’t think this was a Red Ice maker or something. I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” 

They dusted for prints but found absolutely none, not surprising for a place that employed nothing but androids, and Gavin’s hunch that one or more androids (though he didn’t specify who) were possibly to blame for the theft. 

After they wrapped up some statements, took some photos and drove off, Hank asked what Gavin was so suspicious of, why he seemed extra worried about this case. They were on a more industrial side of town and passing some large warehouses. Just as Gavin started to reply that he couldn’t really say much about it (he had promised Eli again that morning not to tell anyone of the government ordeal), something caught his eye. Jolting upward in his seat, Gavin practically shouted to Hank “Wait! Pull over right here!” 

  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is a doozie! It’s mostly written already and will be up ASAP. 
> 
> For snippets of this work in progress and the art and fics of far better authors than myself, join a great group of DBH fans at https://discord.gg/qU84fBy


	14. Chapter 14

Hank pulled over right away, straining to see what had caught Gavin’s attention. The parking lot of the large, dilapidated industrial complex was gravel-bare and pitted; Hank let out an “Oof” when a big pothole rocked the car sharply. The place looked long-abandoned, overgrown with weeds and decorated with fading graffiti. “What is it?” he asked his passenger when he was unable to see anything noteworthy as he drove slowly along. 

Gavin strained his neck, studying the building as they drew closer. “That grass and stuff on the backside, it’s all trampled down.”

“Oook… And?” 

“People have been walking in and out through there.”

“We’re on the shit side of town, kid, people camp out in these places all the time.”

“No, like, a _lot_ of people have walked through there.”

Hank turned the vehicle toward the rear of the building. Reed was plenty of things, but stupid and bad cop weren’t on the list and there weren’t a lot of people he trusted more when it came to instinct and observation. Sure enough, the area was trampled to mud in some spots of the back of the property. Hank narrowed his eyes. “Hmm…HEY!” he called after Gavin, who suddenly sprinted from the vehicle. 

Throwing off his seatbelt, Hank hurried after his new temporary partner, watching the other man withdrawing his gun from its holster but keeping it low as he disappeared into the building through a precariously half-hinged and rust-eaten door. 

“Goddamnit,” Hank muttered under his breath. Broken glass cracked and scraped against the asphalt beneath his feet as he reached the corner of the building. He called in to dispatch for backup, just in case, before ducking through the doorway. 

Hank’s eyes widened and his breath froze in his throat. Gavin was nowhere to be seen, but faces stared blankly forward in his general direction. Hundreds of them, all identical to the next, and he was plunged into a flashback from not so many years ago - CyberLife Tower and the countless Connor clones. These weren’t Connors, not even RK’s, but the vision was so jarringly similar that it took him a moment to let out the breath he hadn’t even meant to hold. “Jesus” he whispered to himself. The machines didn’t react to him at all though, they simply stood in rows, powered up and LEDs blue, but motionless and “blank”, like they were all in stasis. 

“Freeze!” Gavin’s voice squeak-shouted at the far end of the building, snapping Hank from his focus on the rows of androids. Using the motionless bodies as cover, he crept toward the detective and whatever he had discovered. 

When he was finally able to observe Gavin, still a distance from him, a lump formed in his throat. Nines. (Or, who he had every reason to assume was Nines, anyway.) And Reed, standing little more than an arm’s length from him, gun drawn and pointed squarely at the 900’s chest. Cases of blue blood were stacked on nearby tables and the RK had a pouch in one hand, a small tool in the other, seemingly in the process of working on one of the androids in the rows of many. 

Reed's voice was hard to hear, and not just because of the distance he stood from Hank. The man was trembling, teeth gritted and unable to keep his voice steady. Hank’s heart dropped for Gavin’s position, another similarity of the environment not lost on him… he knew exactly what pointing a gun at someone you love felt like. “Nines,” Gavin practically begged, “What the hell is going on?” 

The RK cocked his head, entirely unphased to be in the literal crosshairs of Gavin’s weapon. Hank remained hidden but as the 900’s mouth curled into a wide, unsettling grin, he trained his own gun on the android. “Ah, you again,” the RK900 purred as he set the small tool on a table. “I underestimated your determination, Mr. Reed.”

Other than the small trembling of his arms and hands, Gavin didn’t move a muscle. “Nines you’re under arrest. For a whole list of shit I don’t even understand.” 

Hank stepped out from his vantage point among the rows of androids to show himself, gun steady and sure on the head of the man he previously would’ve called a friend… before killing, or trying to kill Connor. Before whatever the hell all of this was. “Don’t try anything, Nines. You’re coming with us for the attempted murder of Connor, the theft of that Thirium and whatever the fuck else is going on here.” 

No sooner did Hank finish the words before the RK’s LED dipped briefly to yellow. Faster than he could react, the face of the android standing closest to Hank snapped toward him like something out of a nightmare and the muzzle of a gun met his temple. Hank groaned in frustration, how could he not realize Nines would have control of these machines? But when the metal shoved more firmly against the side of his skull, he loosened his grip on his own gun, allowing the trigger guard to spin on his index finger and the weapon to dip out of his grasp. The machine promptly took the handgun from him without a word. 

Gavin’s face washed over with conflict, torn now as to where he should aim his own gun. “Nines, _please_ ,” he begged in full ” _Please_ _don’t do this_.” His voice cracked as he added, deciding to keep his weapon aimed on the man he loved, “Please don’t make _me_ do this.” His eyes darted between Nines and the android who was holding Hank firmly by his upper arm now. At least a gun was no longer pointed at the Lieutenant’s head.

“Hah,” The RK huffed a dry laugh at Gavin’s desperate plea, “No, I don’t believe I’ll be going anywhere with you.” Just then, the distant wail of sirens could be heard, causing the 900 to draw one side of his face into an angered sneer, he moved with unironically super-human speed and withdrew his own—no, Connor’s— gun from behind his back. He fired twice in rapid succession.

Both rounds met their mark, hammering straight into Gavin’s chest. 

Hank screamed “NO!” and struggled against the grasp that pinned him in place, but the efforts were in vain and the sound was buried by the gunshots. 

With the screech of a surprised yelp that would later haunt Hank’s nightmares, Gavin cried out as he crumpled onto the cracked, dusty concrete. He fired a single shot in return as he fell, striking the RK in the lower shoulder... it was too little and too late, the impact barely nudged the android backward. Before Gavin could regain enough control to better place a second shot, the 900 kicked the gun from his hand. He looked coolly down at the human as Gavin palmed desperately at his own chest, blood cascading wide ribbons of bright red down his sides. “You have a 23 percent chance of survival,” the android provided factually, without any remorse. “Pity, really. I can understand some of your appeal.” 

The 900 glanced at his cohort and LED spun yellow again. The second android immediately returned his gun to Hank’s head and the Lieutenant’s eyes widened. But a half of a breath or less away from the end of Hank Anderson’s story, Gavin withdrew his backup weapon and, pulling off an incredible shot for his present condition, the bullet blew a hole clean through the temple of Hank’s captor. 

A car door could be heard slamming just at the other side of the building’s wall and the pounding of footsteps rapidly approached their position. The RK roared in anger down at Gavin but bolted toward the exit, knowing an escape was growing more complicated with every passing moment. 

*****

It was early afternoon when Chloe walked toward Elijah as he leaned over Connor’s chassis, carefully digging at the delicate wiring in the side of the 800’s head. “Eli, you have a phone call.” 

“Just put it on speaker, please” he replied without pausing his work. 

Her hesitation caused him to look up, finding concern on her face as she slowly did as requested. Puzzled, once he heard the little sound indicating the speaker was on, he asked “This is Elijah Kamski, how can I help you?”

A male voice he thought he recognized replied “Mr. Kamski, this is Captain Jeffrey Fowler with the Detroit Police Department.” The words were heavy, the tone all he needed to know this wasn’t a passive call. “I understand that Detective Gavin Reed is your brother?” A chill crept goosebumps across Eli’s flesh, like the heat of a comforting fire being snuffed abruptly from a freezing night. 

Quicky, within a single exhale, Elijah answered “He is, yes. Is everything ok?”

“I’m afraid not, Mr. Kamski. Detective Reed was shot during an investigation today, he’s in critical condition, they’re taking him in to surgery now.” 

Elijah blanked, staring down at the phone for several moments, his sharply drawn breaths were the only sounds in the room. It took the gentle weight of Chloe’s hand on his shoulder to snap him out of it. “W-which hospital?” he eventually managed to ask.

“Detroit Medical Center. I’m on the scene where it occurred, but I’ll be at the hospital as soon as I can.”

“Ok.” was all he could say and Chloe ended the call for him. 

  
  


Several police cars were gathered outside of the hospital. Hank was the first person Elijah recognized, their eyes meeting as he and Chloe approached the entrance. The Lieutenant was covered in blood and Eli forced himself to swallow the lump in his throat. He knew, without needing to be told, that all of it was Gavin’s blood. And the Lieutenant was soaked in it. 

The first several hours passed in a blur. The doctors couldn’t tell him much. One bullet hit Gavin in the lower sternum, the other just below his heart. He was in surgery and they were having trouble stabilizing him. 

Hank explained what happened, and the information was like white noise with occasionally coherent words crackling their way through it. Loads of androids (Hank wouldn’t know this, but it didn’t sound like all of them?). Nines shot Gavin and ran away. Gavin saved Hank’s life and then Hank held him, trying to keep him calm and pressuring the wounds. The FBI was at the warehouse currently but wouldn’t tell anyone anything.

It was all so relevant and yet Eli couldn’t care less. He just wanted to know if his brother was going to be ok, but no definitive answer would be given. 

Elijah was to his core a technology man. And deviancy and androids with free will aside, codes and wires and hardware and programs… they were reliable, predictable. Controllable. If you could paint Elijah Kamski with any one broad brush, he’d own whatever color “control freak” was. Hey… nobody is perfect. And right now, he’d solve any problem or pay any amount of money in the world to guarantee that Gavin was going to be ok. 

Fowler arrived eventually. The man’s professional front was perfected, but Elijah could see the worry behind his eyes. Doctors came and went. Gavin was finally out of surgery, but still in critical care. By the time Eli and Chloe were allowed to see him, it was well into the early morning hours. 

Gavin laid still and quiet, heavily sedated by the lingering surgical drugs and painkillers. Wires and tubes ran all over and into his body, helping him breathe, replenishing lost fluid and monitoring his vitals. He looked pale and helpless. Blood still clumped small areas of his hair, a minor detail no one had been bothered with while trying to save his life. 

Feeling helpless to do anything else, Eli took a small washcloth from the bathroom, soaked it with warm water and worked some of the matted blood from Gavin’s head. His brother hardly stirred, only halfway opening his eyes a couple of times before slipping unconscious again. 

He didn’t move from Gavin’s side all night. Four times, doctors rushed in when Gavin’s blood pressure dropped or his oxygen levels were inadequate. Once, Eli clung to Chloe in horror as they had to re-start Gavin’s heart right there in the room. 

They took Gavin back into surgery and when he finally came out again, the doctors politely but firmly insisted to Elijah that it would be best if he left Gavin alone to rest for a while. Reluctantly, Chloe drove them back home. 

  
  


For all their differences, the brothers had plenty in common. Heading straight to his lab when they returned home, Eli poured himself into his work. It was easier than allowing his mind the time to wallow in its fears.

As the body of the RK800 still lay dormant on the table perched in the center of the room, Eli set out to reclaim the mind of his brother’s friend and colleague. 

He focused on extracting the damaged code from Connor’s processors. Replacing the damaged physical components was easy. Capturing and organizing the coding that made Connor, Connor… that was a much more delicate endeavor. And a perfect distraction for his state of mind. 

Chloe brought him food and begged him to get some sleep, but he refused all of her attempts. It was several hours of focused work later and he’d made quite a bit of headway on Connor before the hospital called. 

Gavin was finally somewhat stabilized and responsive, although minimally, and the doctors agreed to allow Eli to visit him. Wasting no time, he and Chloe returned to the hospital right away. 

His eyes were sunken in and he looked even worse than he had the previous evening. But Gavin opened his eyes when Elijah’s hand grasped his. “Hey…” Eli said just to break the silence. All Gavin could manage was some blinking and a whiny grunt in reply. He didn’t even try to speak. 

The rest of the day passed. Doctors came and went again, discussing some things with Eli while Gavin laid still in the bed, disinterested. Late into the evening, Eli sat on the uncomfortable chair pulled up beside Gavin’s bed, staring mindlessly at the tv and whatever mainstream movie played on it. In a moment of still silence, a small, broken voice spoke quietly from the bed, “He shot me.”

Elijah sighed. He knew this was coming… a long time coming, at that. Dodging the topic as a whole never lasted forever. Looking over at his brother, he found him staring down at his own hands, arms draped loosely across his lap. “He tried to kill me, Eli, and he didn’t even pretend to care.” 

Taking Gavin’s hand in his, he’d do everything he could to comfort his brother, but easy words for this situation didn’t exist. “I know, Gav. I won’t pretend to know what’s going on any more than you do, or to have any idea what you’re going through.” Gripping the hand a little more tightly so Gavin looked up at him, he continued, “But I promise you, I’ll do everything I can to figure out what happened with Nines. And if it _can_ be fixed, I’ll fix it.”

The smallest of a nod in response was all he could ask for. But now that Gavin had spoken at all, it was suddenly all he wanted to do. The brothers talked and talked… as much as Gavin in his weak state could manage anyway. His pain would spike, he’d fall quiet suddenly and rested often. But the avoidance of the Nines subject was quite suddenly gone and even without being asked for most of it, he filled Eli in with volumes of the good and bad from the last two years with ~~his~~ the android. 

It was as if Gavin had realized his brother’s only impression of Nines must be horrible and he felt the need to explain why and how he’d fallen in love with the man in the first place. Or maybe he felt the need to remind _himself_. Hard to say. 

But the talking became ideas and possibilities and over the next two days, Eli only left Gavin’s side when the doctors or Chloe practically forced him to. 

The doctor’s words weren’t promising. They were the distant and hazy howling of some faraway animal you decided was a dog, because the fear of it being a wolf just wasn’t something you could stomach. Surely, the sounds were a terrible fate that would ruin someone else’s lives, not their own. 

Neither wanted to think about it. Instead, whenever together, they discussed memories and means. Elijah had a small video camera capturing most of their conversations. Some of the nurses looked troubled by the equipment, but none said anything. Gavin was used to his brother’s weird way of handling things and technology would always be at the top of the list.

Eli asked him about mistakes he’d made, things he’d always wanted and things he’d change, if he could. 

“The scar, would you keep it?”

“Well yeah, of course.” Gavin actually managed a broad, toothy as he replied, something incredibly rare the last few days. “How else would anyone recognize me?” 

“Fair enough,” Eli chuckled. 

A coughing fit suddenly seized Gavin and he curled inward from the pain, struggling to breathe through his badly damaged lungs. His hands clenched firmly into the crisp hospital sheets and dry lips pulled back to expose his teeth, evenly aligned as he sucked short, raspy hisses of desperately needed air. 

Gavin had made it expressly clear that he didn’t want pity or to be fussed over in situations like this, when he couldn’t just ignore or hide the pain that gripped him. It was incredibly hard for anyone to watch though, especially when just a few months ago, he was at the top of his game— defined muscles, bright eyes and a sharp tongue. It was a stark contrast to the atrophied, gaunt and tired man spiraling the proverbial drain.

When Tina had visited earlier in the day, she put on a good show of strength but she couldn’t hide her brimming tears from Elijah as she turned to go. Hank hadn’t seemed to know what to say, he hoped just going, being supportive and present was enough, it’s what Connor would’ve wanted. Visiting people in the hospital was always tough, especially when the prognosis was so grim. 

A couple minutes passed as Eli watched the broken body lying in front of him slowly relax. Gavin’s eyes remained shut though until his breathing returned to its relative normal. When they opened again, they were glazed and distant. 

Determined to heed his brother’s demands that he not waste time ‘worried about shit he couldn’t fix’, Eli returned to his questions as soon as he felt Gavin was capable of speaking. He asked quietly, “Is there any memory you wish you could forget?”

“No,” Gavin replied hoarsely, before clearing his throat. 

“Even seeing Nines how he came back?” Eli asked gently, “Would you delete him completely, like you’d never met him at all?”

Gavin looked lost at the question. He stared at the floor as though it would hold the answers for him. The thought of never having met Nines at all hadn't even occurred to him. It only took him a moment before he clamped his eyes shut to the thought and shook his head vigorously. “No, no way.” he replied. “I couldn't forget him. He’s the only person I’ve ever truly loved, Eli.”

“Ok, I understand. But… How about how he came back? That he hurt you.. that he shot you… Would you keep those memories?”

Without a single hesitation, Gavin responded, “Yes, I’d have to.”

“Why? Why would you want to remember that?”

Gavin went silent again, this time staring into his brother’s eyes. Elijah knew his sibling had always held an emotional depth and perspective he would never master. But when the gravity of the answer was still somehow spoken like the simplest thing in the world, Eli held his own breath for a moment. 

“Because without those memories, how else am I supposed to fall _out_ of love with the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with?” 

The older brother started to speak but just then, a nurse entered to check Gavin’s vitals again and give him his 2pm pain meds. 

Simply shifting himself upright to swallow the small, white pill seemed to bring him so much pain again. His eyes were hooded constantly now and exhaustion permanently tattooed his features. Guilt pooled in Eli’s gut as he realized these talks, however necessary, were probably taking a heavy toll on his brother. He wished beyond words that he could make this part pain free. 

He decided that for the time being, giving him some rest would at least help. Chloe wasn’t with him for this visit, so he told Gavin he’d be back in a few hours and headed home. 

Chloe convinced him to rest himself for a while and he successfully dozed off for an hour or so. He awoke restless though, and returned to his work on Connor.

Another couple of hours later, quite to his own surprise (he hadn’t exactly been keeping track of his own progress, just heaving himself into it whenever possible,) he spoke out loud to absolutely no one “...I’m done? I think?” 

Giving away her ever-watchful presence, Chloe entered just a moment later. “Really!? You think everything is fixed?”

Eli shrugged, “Um, I think so? Only one way to find out, I guess?” After emptying enough Thirium into Connor to replenish everything he’d lost, Elijah and Chloe shared a hopeful nod and he initiated the 800’s startup sequence. 

  
  
  



	15. Chapter 15

Connor’s eyes needed only a nanosecond to adjust to the bright lighting. He sat up on the table and identified two people observing him. “Good evening, Mr. Elijah Kamski. Chloe.” he spoke very officially and smiled pleasantly at each. Robotically. 

Streams of data surged through his processors and little blips of information stood out. His job. A human man named Hank Anderson. The date. 

“It appears I’ve been offline for an extended period, this is unusual. Did something occur?” 

Chloe looked worriedly at Eli and he squeezed her hand. “You know this is normal, give him a minute,” he reassured her before replying to Connor. “RK800, what is your name?”

“Connor.” He replied with the same default placid smile.

“Good, Connor. Now, what is the last event in your memory?” 

He took a moment to consider the answer. “I…” he searched the files, things didn't seem right. Images began to form and become tangible thoughts, memories. New blips of information evolved. A human man named Gavin Reed. An android named Nines. He shouted suddenly, “NO!!”, then continued to yell garbled and incoherent static as he scrambled down from the table. 

Chloe jumped and Elijah held a hand up, palm facing Connor. The 800 understood it as a sign to calm down, and forced himself to do so, despite the panicked thoughts moving faster than his output could keep up with. 

“What do you remember, Connor?” Elijah asked again, calmly. 

“Nines. He isn’t Nines.”

When both other people looked confused, Connor balled his hands into frustrated fists and shook his head. “Nines, our Nines is serial number 87. The android living with Detective Reed is 86. He shut off my external communication as soon as I found out so that I couldn’t warn anyone. He took my gun and I believe he.. shot me?” A new thought entered his mind. ”I… I am surprised you were able to recover me, given the trajectory, actually?” He realized, looking around the room, that more things didn’t add up. He accessed his location coordinates. “Are we at your personal home, Mr. Kamski?” 

“Yes. The CyberLife repair center was unable to fix you, so I did myself.”

Connor was taken aback with the information. He had heard that many had asked for Kamski’s help in the past, and it was a rare occurrence that he was willing. Understandably, really. “I’m… I’m beyond appreciative but… I can’t say I understand?” 

Right, he didn’t know. “Gavin Reed is my brother.” Eli supplied. “He said you were very important to him and asked if I could help. I offered to try and I’m glad to say it looks like I was successful!” 

“That..” Connor spent a moment mulling over this information. How did he not know that? Did Nines know that? Shaking his head again, he pushed it into a file for later, it didn’t matter right now. “Gavin, I need to tell him this right away, he could be in danger.”

Eli frowned, exhaling softly through his nose. “Gavin _was_ in danger. Nines, er, this 86? shot him, he’s in the hospital.” 

Time passing when you were offline was a frustrating thing. Connor felt like he’d just left Gavin’s apartment moments ago. “What happened? Is he going to be ok? Is anyone else (his inner voice screamed Hank) hurt?” 

Elijah’s stomach turned. “He, uh, what happened is a long story. But no, they…” Chloe placed a gentle hand on Eli’s shoulder before silently extending her other hand toward Connor, skin withdrawing in an obvious invitation to interface. 

Looking between them and then down to her hand, Connor hesitated for a moment but then accepted, allowing all of his questions, as well as things he didn’t even know to ask, to be answered in a blink. When Chloe removed her hand, Connor stared in silence. He finally choked out, “We need to go. To the hospital, now.” 

On the trip there, Connor had to repeatedly boot up his fans to cool himself off and lower his stress levels. Nines, the real Nines, his brother and friend… he had trusted him to take care of Gavin. Nothing in Nines’ world was more important than Gavin. If what Chloe has shown him was true, if these doctors were right and they couldn’t maintain sufficient blood flow and oxygen to Gavin’s organs and they couldn’t keep the infections from returning. If they couldn’t save Gavin’s life… Connor began to rock himself slightly back and forth on the bench seat like Hank had shown him years ago. 

He’d failed. It wasn’t the first time, of course. Deviancy and Amanda, Markus, all of those things were a plethora of confusions and failures, depending on how you looked at things. But this was different, he’d failed to do the only thing Nines had ever really seriously asked of him. He’d been asked specifically to keep one human— a colleague, friend and everything his brother held dear— safe. And he hadn't. 

He wanted to think about how happy he’d be to see Hank, how grateful he was to be alive, what a feat Kamski had pulled off to repair him— The fans kicked on again— he couldn’t focus on any of that yet. 

Elijah and Chloe agreed a happy surprise may do Gavin some good, so they didn’t call ahead and they let Connor go in alone when they arrived at his hospital room. Gavin was asleep when he walked in, and Connor was thankful for it. It allowed him the liberty to run a full scan of the man, and the privacy to process the results. 

The doctors were right. Gavin had a 2% chance of survival. The man was dying. 

Connor sank slowly into the nearby chair. Gavin took a wheezing breath and shifted in the bed a bit before becoming aware that someone else was with him and opening his eyes. He did a rather comical double take, withdrew slightly, unsure whether he could believe the sight, and then rubbed his eyes with one hand like he might be hallucinating. “Connor?” he asked disbelievingly. 

Forcing himself to smile at him, Connor nodded. 

“Oh my God!” Gavin exclaimed, “Eli fixed you?!” He reached out and grasped up and down Connor’s arm, needing his hands to confirm the presence as well, his face lit up gleefully when they did. “And you, do you…” the happiness snapped suddenly like a weak piece of elastic. His shoulders dropped as his hand moved away from Connor’s arm. “Do you… remember.. everything?”

Taking Gavin’s hand before he could pull it completely away, Connor interlaced their fingers. They had definitely never held hands like this, and Gavin raised an eyebrow. “I do, Gavin, I remember everything. But only one thing really matters.” The humans' eyes glanced from Connor’s face, to their joined hands with confused amusement as Connor continued, “It wasn’t him, Gavin. That wasn’t Nines.” 

“Huh?”

“The android that was in your apartment that night, that shot me— that wasn’t Nines. It wasn’t his serial number, it was the RK900 that came before him in testing.”

The pain, medication and exhaustion left him a little slow on the uptake. “So… that.. there’s another RK900? It’s been him all along?”

“Well in fairness, I can’t attest to anything more than that one night. But the android that shot me was _not_ Nines, it was an RK900 ending in 86, whereas Nines of course is 87. It would be an assumption to say _everything_ that happened to both of us was this 900 -86, but... it would be a sensible assumption, I believe.”

Words couldn’t describe the emotion that flooded Gavin. “I knew it. I _knew_ Nines would never do this shit, Connor, nothing could ever make him do this. It just never made sense, I couldn’t accept it.” He blinked several times, annoyed that his vision wasn’t clear and taking a moment to even realize it was because tears were streaming heavily down his face. 

He brushed at his eyes with the back of his free hand, but the wetness was replaced just as quickly. “..Sorry,” he muttered, embarrassed to be so emotional in front of literally anyone other than Nines. Laughing a bit at himself, Gavin felt increasingly weightless as the best news he’d ever heard in his life sank in and eased a pain deeper than any drug in the hospital could possibly reach. A warm softness wove around him, comforting the depths of his soul. 

Asking after a pause, knowing it was largely rhetorical, he asked, “So, where’s _our_ Nines?”

Shaking his head softly, Connor shrugged. “I, I don’t know.” He squeezed the hand he was still holding, “But I can assure you, I’ll stop at nothing to find out.” 

It was a promise, without needing to be stated as such, and both took it equally seriously. Gavin squeezed Connor’s hand in return and nodded slowly. “Thank you. I know you’ll find him.” After a moment of silence passed, Gavin asked meekly, “Can you give him a message for me? Like a recording or whatever for when you find him?

Connor licked his lips nervously. “Gavin you understand that we don’t know if Nines is even alive…” 

“He’s alive.”

“I..”

Firmly, “He’s alive, Connor.” 

There was no sense in arguing with him. “Of course, Gavin. I can tell him, or show him, whatever you’d like.” 

With a victorious smile, Gavin began his lengthy message to Nines, essentially addressing him directly through the 800. Connor promised to show it to no one else, not that he would have dreamed of doing so to begin with. 

When Gavin was done, Connor paused for a moment. “Gavin, I don’t know how Nines will react to all of this.” It was… a lot. 

“Me neither.” Gavin replied honestly, “I feel like he’d understand, if he was here. But all I can do now is hope he will, I guess.” He wouldn’t normally talk so readily to anyone about his emotions, but he knew these things needed to be spoken, fresh tears ran down his face. “I love him, I’ll always love him. But I’ve made this decision for _me_ , and I hope… I desperately hope he can understand it. But,” his voice broke and he had to pause. “But I won’t hold it against him if he can’t accept it. Let it be his choice.”

Both men spent the next several moments in silent understanding. Only time would tell how Nines would react to everything. Changing the subject, Gavin asked with a small laugh, “So, how’d Hank react to seeing you?”

“Oh, I haven’t seen him yet. Or spoken to him, even.”

“So he still doesn’t even know you’re ok?”

“I’d imagine not. Unless Kamski— oh, uh, your brother?” His expression betrayed that he hadn’t expected _that_ little secret, “Unless he told Hank.”

“Then what the hell are you waiting around here for? Go see that man before he offs himself and me saving his life was a waste of good ammo.” 

Connor chastised, “Getting shot hasn’t improved your decorum, I see.” 

Gavin shrugged, “I’m dying. Why start now?”

Big sigh. But he was right, and Connor truly couldn’t wait to see Hank. “I’ll come back tomorrow, to visit.” Gavin nodded and waved a goodbye. 

When Eli and Chloe walked in a moment later, Gavin beamed ear to ear. “You fucking did it!” he spoke excitedly, “I mean, I didn’t really doubt you, but still, holy shit Eli!” 

Holding up his hands in a pose of cocky self-admiration that was only halfway facetious, Eli gestured into the air. “What can I say? Genius has its perks.”

“A deeply rooted inability to connect to people and poor taste in music?” 

“Mmm. Guess I know what parent to thank for which genetics.”

They goaded each other a while longer but it was quite late in the evening by this point. Eli fell asleep, head in Chloe’s lap on the room’s little couch shortly after Gavin nodded off. 

At one point during the night, Gavin woke up to find Elijah snoring away while Chloe was in stasis. He reached for his phone and scrolled briefly through the basics. His finger went by habit to his texts and he scrolled, much further down on the recent exchanges than it should be, to Nines’ contact. All of Gavin’s texts of confusion and pleas from the last several weeks, unanswered of course.

Gavin decided that another unanswered message wasn’t going to hurt, so he typed.

_‘I miss you, wherever you are. I’m sorry we’re not able to be with each other through this. But I want you to know that I’m ok. And I want nothing more than for you to be ok too, with or without me. Help Connor when he finds you, he’s being too hard on himself, and let him help you too. Brothers need each other. I’ll love you forever Nines, and I hope to tell you that in person again soon.’_

Nurses and a doctor or two came and went through the night as usual. It was impossible to ever really rest in a hospital. Morning came with another consult with the best internal medicine specialist in the world— Eli had flown him in the same day Gavin was shot. They’d try changing his antibiotics yet again, but there were no delusions of tangible hope. 

Chloe kissed Gavin on the cheek before heading off to do some shopping and errands. Connor did indeed visit again later in the morning, and brought Hank with him. Just having Connor back by his side seemed to brighten the man to his core. The Lieutenant hugged Elijah, and ran out of words to thank him for helping Connor. He repeated much of the same to Gavin for the 100th time. For Connor, for saving his own life…“thank you’s” were the band-aid for not knowing how or when to say goodbyes. 

Gavin smiled and tried to remain upbeat and positive. They all knew it must’ve been so hard for him to do so. Hank mussed his hair and joked with him, but the usual bite wasn’t in his words and when they left, Gavin was quiet for a while. 

After all of the conversation about the memories of the past and the dreams for the future, the discussions about the brutal and likely truth of the present were an agonizing necessity. Elijah wanted to take this opportunity that so many people never get, to make sure everything would be exactly as Gavin wanted. 

As he fought the tears that threatened their burn at the rims of his eyes, Eli asked about the ceremony itself. 

“Pride flag?”, he asked gently, both knowing what he was referring to. 

Gavin laughed as best as he could manage, low and labored. “Nah. Gay isn’t something I’m proud of.” 

Surprised and very saddened by the answer, “No?” Eli asked.

“I mean, I’m not ashamed of it or nothing like that, that’s not what I mean. But it’s not a thing I think of one way or the other.” He shrugged. “Gay is just a thing that I am, like all the other things I am.”

Looking down to his hands so he didn’t have to hold eye contact, Eli admitted, “I never really thought about it that way.” He paused before taking the opportunity to say something he’d never had the courage to voice. It angered him suddenly, that he hadn’t told his brother so many of these things sooner. “You know, I was always proud of how you handled that. Despite how the world can be, despite how dad treated you over it, you held yourself strong. Confident in who you are and what you wanted. I always really respected that… still do.” 

Both brothers smiled broadly at one another. The silent exchange offered more understanding than words ever could have. 

A thought occurred to Gavin and he spoke carefully. “I feel like you’ve already done so much, but, there is one more thing I’d like to ask...?”

“Of course, anything.”

“Can you make sure they get my name right? My real name? I’d like that to be set straight. That is, if you’re willing…”

Elijah beamed at the request. “Of course, Gavin. I’d be honored to.” 

They continued talking quietly until the younger brother started nodding off between answers. Allowing Gavin to give in to his body’s demands for sleep, Eli left a note by his bedside and quietly exited the room. He texted Chloe that he was taking a short break for a bite to eat in case she wanted to join him for a while. 

The ability for androids to interface had initially been simply a proposition for functional efficiency. Post-deviancy, Elijah had been overjoyed when androids began using the action as a means to convey the presence and strength of their emotions. The unexpected capability to accurately convey what they were feeling for each other, for their humans and for life in general was a beautiful thing. 

Often, he found himself wishing he had these means to show Chloe how much he appreciated her. Now, for example, as she chatted about some silly things she had seen on tv and a minor debacle while out shopping this afternoon, Elijah stared at her from across the small table of the diner just down the road from the hospital. She happened to be looking at a small group of teenagers nearby when tears began to crawl a narrow stream down his face. 

When she looked back to him, she froze momentarily and her LED circled red once before hurriedly moving to the bench beside him. As she cradled his face against her shoulder, he cried softly but without concern for how he may look to the strangers around them. It was in a moment like this, he wished he could _show_ her, in full, how much she meant to him. How she was his guiding light and his anchor when he was at the edge of losing his ability to cope. 

After Eli gathered his emotions back into check and picked at the basic burger and fries, the two returned together to the hospital. Chloe brought Gavin a pair of socks she had found on her shopping trip. They were adorned with little cats wearing Police uniforms. She knew he’d love them and gingerly swung the little bag containing them back and forth as they walked. She held Elijah’s hand in hers as they made their way down the quiet, sterile corridor toward Gavin’s room. 

As they neared his room however, a nurse stepped out from behind her desk, interrupting their path. The look on her face… the information she conveyed with the expression in her eyes… Eli stuttered in his tracks. The nurse didn’t need to speak, the understanding came all on its own. 

The body of the kid he’d grown up with, the teenager that challenged and helped shape him and the man he was proud to call his brother had finally had enough. 

Gavin was gone. 

Eli backed robotically into the nearby wall and slid down it to sit gracelessly on the off-white barren floor. Drawing a knee up and draping his arms across it to hide his face, sobs began to rock his shoulders. He wept in earnest as Chloe set the small bag down and held him closely against her. 

The gift of a rekindled closeness to someone is a cruel thing when they’re taken so soon thereafter. 

*****

  
  


An amazing display of respect, support and brotherhood occurs when a Police Officer succumbs to injuries received in the line of duty. 

Police cruisers lined the road for miles. Their lights flashed like the red and blue strobes could illuminate a path straight to first responder heaven. 

Every officer of the DPD who wasn’t actively on duty was in attendance. Others had come from all across the state, uniforms freshly pressed, black bands wrapped their badges to honor one of their own. Whether they’d known Gavin or not, the sentiment was the same: A fellow officer had fallen. 

Hank snuck a flask in to give himself the courage to speak; Connor hadn’t even tried to object. He gave a noble glimpse and a fine tribute to the man who had affected him in ways he never would have expected. 

Tina had planned a speech. She held her script, crinkling with the fidgeting of her fingers, but ultimately abandoned the written words just to talk about Gavin. His humor and his quirks and the friend she would miss. 

Elijah’s finely tailored black suit was cut from the same fabric as Chloe’s perfectly fitted dress. The two of them held hands often. More than once, she squeezed his to help ground him when she felt him sway slightly on his feet. He held his head high and proud for his brother’s accomplishments but tears streamed steadily from his face and when the color guard presented him the folded United States flag, his chin quivered against his best efforts. 

He kept his eyes closed tightly and flinched with each resounding shot of the 21-gun salute. The percussion of their perfectly synchronized boom echoed in the chests of everyone in attendance. 

Gavin’s wooden casket was draped with the American flag he wanted and his headstone was simple but strong. 

At 6:15pm, under the passing fluffy clouds of a beautiful early summer day, Detective Gavin Kamski Reed was laid to rest. 

*****

  
  


A month passed, and then close to another. Connor was now assisting the FBI, he practically left them no option. His sole mission in life it seemed was capturing 86 and finding Nines. The androids in the warehouse where Gavin had been shot were recovered by the military, but they were only a fraction of what was missing. 

Eli worked tirelessly. He helped Connor and the government where he was needed, he worked in his lab, and he spent time with Chloe. Very few other interests took any priority as those weeks passed. 

The many journals Gavin had kept at the advice of his therapist, letters, yearbooks and family photos sat in stacks on Elijah’s work desk. All had been digitized to join the videos, computer history, every interaction from Chloe and Connor’s digital records and the piles of other accumulated data. 

It was August 18th, at exactly 9:47pm. 

Under the bright lights of the lab workspace in Elijah Kamski’s mansion, an android with an artificially replicated scar prominently adorning the bridge of his nose lay flat and still atop the metal table in the center of the room.

He opened his grey-green eyes and blinked several times into the pristine space and hum of computers that greeted him. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m crossing my fingers and hoping that you guys will stick with me. Good things are eventually still to come, I promise!


	16. Chapter 16

In 2012, Dr. Francis Collins asked in his blog, “Ever wonder what is it that makes you, you? … some of the world’s top neuroscientists might say: ‘You are your connectome.‘”

In 2026, The Connectome Project made huge advances in neuroanatomy and neural circuitry database mapping. Their breakthroughs continued to snowball understanding of how the human brain operates, with massive impacts in the human medical field. 

The work of these top neural and brain experts had little to do with Elijah’s success of the creation of androids. But it had almost everything to do with his efforts to capture the essence of his brother. 

He’d explained a lot of it to Gavin in the hospital, mostly the purpose of the various machines he was using, but the technobabble hadn’t interested the other man and in fairness, it wasn’t Eli’s area of expertise either. He’d studied the subject ad nauseum though and using the field’s groundwork in addition to his varied and extensive other data, he had - in theory - created a complete digital version of every aspect of Gavin’s brain.

“Theory” in this case however was just a fancy word for hope. There was no independent way to test the work. It was hard enough to avoid an identity crisis with any other android, who’s awareness and thought process had always been computerized. 

Eli couldn't exactly take a “brain” that had never functioned as or known anything other than an organic atmosphere and wake it up within a laptop to ask it how it was feeling. An android version of Gavin’s brain was entirely digitized, nothing but wires and code, yes, but identifying a startling environment or seeing itself operate in that way... it posed the risk of potential trauma. 

Some gaps in memory, confusion or other imperfections were to be expected, especially at first. It would take time for the neural/ electrical pathways to communicate fluidly and for the consciousness of what were to some extent, two beings, to really converge. But there was the very real possibility that the goal: the mechanization of Gavin’s mind— hadn’t even worked; That any number of other possibilities had taken place and that the android would be anything other than what Gavin and Eli hoped for, which may or may not even be immediately apparent.

Plus, Gavin’s actual human brain had experienced death while still attached to the neural sensors, and it was anyone’s guess what the results of _that_ may look like on the digitized end. The files containing the event were isolated and ready to be deleted if necessary. 

So with all of those things considered, watching the final product— the spitting image of his brother, blinking himself into awareness upon the lab table— was a moment of truth for Elijah, and his foot tapped in nervous anticipation as he subconsciously clicked the end of his pen.

The android slowly sat upright, taking in the sights around him. 

The clicking held his attention for a moment before he made eye contact with Elijah and ran his hand across the back of his neck, looking unsure as to what to say. 

Leaning into his chair, Eli broke the silence. “Do you know who I am?”

The android nodded, but offered no vocal answer.

Elijah kicked himself for not having Chloe there. She’d suggested that Gavin may prefer the privacy of just the two of them at first, and even though Eli’d agreed at the time, the choice definitely made it harder on him as he decided what to say. Formality would be best, hopefully. 

“I’ll help us both, speak bluntly and address you impersonally, until you're able to decide and comprehend otherwise.” Elijah paused to clear his throat and then continued, “You’re unlike anything that’s been built before. You should already understand why, and know what the goal in creating you was. You’re an unprecedented accomplishment and potentially, aside from Chloe, the most important project I’ve ever undertaken… certainly the most sentimental to me.” 

Again, the android simply nodded in understanding.

Eli exhaled slowly and set the pen down. “ _But_ ,” he emphasized the word sharply, “It was my brother’s greatest request in this venture, of utmost importance to him, that you understand _everything_ from here forward is your choice. You’re born a deviant, no coded walls restrict you, no one but myself can reset you, and no requirement exists that you must adopt the identity, personality or history of the person you’ve been designed after. 

It wrenched his stomach to offer the option, after all of his work and hopes, and Eli couldn’t hide his sadness. He buried his concerns though and continued, “I’ve recreated as complete of a mental and physical embodiment of Gavin as I possibly could. But he and I both accepted with every step of this path, that you would be born as your own person. If you’d prefer— at any point— I can remove any or all of your programming, memories and personality and you can begin life as your own individual. I’ll give you whatever remodeling, money or assistance you need to do so.” 

The fingers of the android ran along the fabric of his T-shirt, something Nines had bought for Gavin on their first beach trip. It was well worn and soft against his delicate sensors. He bunched the fabric in his hand and withdrew away from Eli ever so slightly, as though the man had threatened him. “But,” he objected like the choice had already been taken from him, “I like him… me.” 

Eli chewed along his lower lip, letting the tiny quiver in his jaw be absorbed there. “I just, I want you to fully understand that everything is up to you.”

“Yeah, ok, I understand.” He took a large breath and then laughed to realize it was unnecessary before returning to the more serious issues. “Why would I choose to be anyone but myself, though?”

“I think, with some time, you’ll remember those conversations, but I hope that as everything settles into place, you’ll continue to feel that way. It is largely a matter of how successful I was.”

Hopping off the table, the android stared down, studying his body. It was a startling contrast to his physique during the weeks prior to his death: when stress, lack of sleep, absence from the gym and a poor diet were already taking their toll... none the less the last time he’d seen his body at all— frail, injured and dying. It was now a reflection of how he’d looked at his physical peak. Healthy, toned, and strong. He shifted his weight on his feet and didn’t even look up as he stated plainly, “Of course you were successful,” he replied matter-of-factly, “You’ve never failed.” He took a few steps while passively glancing around the room. 

Surprised by the comment, Eli couldn’t tell whether it was rooted in complete faith he hadn’t realized Gavin held for him, or total ignorance of the depths of what had occurred. Either way, it wasn’t accurate. “Of course I’ve failed. Countless times.” 

Raising his face to meet Eli’s gaze, the android responded with a quiet confidence, “You’ve never failed me.” 

The reply struck Eli like a blowtorch to the ice wall presently guarding his emotions and he swallowed against the lump that suddenly formed in his throat. Choosing not to dwell on things he still wasn’t entirely sure of the source of though, he asked, “So, would you like me to call you Gavin?” 

“What the fuck else would you call me?” he laughed in response with a raised eyebrow as he picked the top photo album up from the stack on Eli’s desk. 

Elijah watched the other man smile at some photos in the album and let a few moments pass before Elijah asked quietly, carefully, “Gavin… are you aware that you died?”

The other man paused mid-turn of the album’s page and his eyelids lowered. “Yes, of course I’m aware. I was shot and it sucked and I died.” Adding with a chipper upturn to his voice, “And you brought me back as an android!”

“And… you’re ok with everything you’re feeling so far?”

“Yup, so far so good. So... what happens now?”

If anything was reliably _‘Gavin’_ to the core, it was the pointlessness of pushing topics he wasn’t ready to discuss. Eli wasn’t convinced in the least, but he knew when to drop it and figured the familiar trait may even be a good sign. “Well… basically since you’re the first, there’s no precedent for this situation. Legally of course, you’re not the same ‘Gavin Reed,’ you’re android RKOG2 who’s choosing to adopt the identity of a deceased human named Gavin Reed. I felt it would be presumptuous to begin any documentation or anything, so as far as putting things in your name, bank accounts, etc, we’ll still need to figure all of that out.”

“Do we know if I can get my job back?”

“Well, as of now, Connor and I are the only ones who even know you exist. Again, we didn’t want to assume what your choices would be, or complicate them for you or anyone else” 

“Fair enough. And...” cautiously, “Nines?”

“Nothing yet. Connor isn't stopping until he’s found, though. We spoke about an hour ago and I told him I was waking you up. He’s eager to hear how it’s going.”

“Should we call him?”

“Actually, try a remote link to reach him. Since you’re not a CyberLife creation, I had to manually add you to their intranet to make sure you’d have communication capabilities with other androids.”

“Sounds good...”

RKOG2 - Connor?

RK800-54 - !   
RK800-54 - Would it be appropriate to refer to you as Gavin or would you prefer something else?

RKOG2 - Gavin is fine.

RK800-54 - It’s excellent to hear from you. How is everything going so far?

RKOG2 - I’m functioning optimally.

RK800-54 - That's good to hear. How is Elijah doing with you coming online? I imagine he may be quite emotional.

RKOG2 - Mr. Kamski seems satisfied with the results thus far. 

RK800-54 - I... see. Has he identified a need to run any tests yet?

RKOG2 - None that he has expressed or that appear necessary. My diagnostics are excellent and my mission parameters are quite clear.

RK800-54 - Mission Parameters? Please let Mr. Kamski know that I will be calling him shortly. 

RKOG2 - I’m just messing with you, Connor.   
RKOG2 - Seriously.

Elijah’s phone rang and, oblivious to the details of the conversation happening within the androids’ heads, he quickly retrieved it from his pocket and answered, “Hey, Connor.” A pause as Connor spoke. “What do you mean?” Another pause. “Dial what back?” He side-eyed the brand new android and found a wide grin on his face. Elijah rolled his eyes and continued speaking with Connor. 

RKOG2 - Sorry, the opportunity was too good to pass up.   
RKOG2 - Please don’t be mad.   
RKOG2 - Connor? 

When Connor still didn’t reply, Gavin sat down in the computer chair and sulked as Elijah was asking Connor when would be a good time. He assumed they were arranging a meeting in person. Eli finally hung up, giving him a disapproving frown but not saying anything about it specifically. Instead he sighed and suggested an all-encompassing conversation: “We need to go over some of the finer details of all of this.”

An hour later, they were in Eli’s car and he’d been told what was appropriate (being confused, asking for help, exploring his capabilities within reason,) and what was inappropriate (pretending to be confused, in need of help and exploiting his capabilities, for any reason,) amongst other things. 

High on the discussion list was stated firmly that there would be no pretending, by anyone, that Gavin hadn’t died. 

Gavin agreed, he asked some basic questions but objected to nothing Eli said. The two fell quiet as he stared out the passenger window at the rain coming down, the city passing by in a way he’d never seen before. It was beautiful, he thought to himself, as he watched the numbers of his own stress level continuing to slowly rise in the background.

  
  


Apparently Hank was at work, so it was just Connor at home and despite the earlier message exchange, he greeted Gavin with a broad smile. “How are you feeling?” he asked as he ushered them out of the rain and into the living room, inviting them to be seated on Hank’s old couches. 

Sumo whined a woeful objection to his bedroom confinement, and Gavin almost wished the dog was there to join them. “Well I’m not dead, so I guess that’s a good start?”

Connor chuckled, “Fair enough.”

“Sorry for making you mad earlier.”

“I wasn’t angry. You just weren’t meant to be a machine and when you acted like one, I was worried.”

“I understand,” he said sheepishly. “So, how's the, uh, manhunt going?” He hadn’t spoken about it once in the hospital, but didn’t really know what else to ask about now.

Connor extended his hand, “Would you like to experience an interface and I can show you that way?” 

Gavin hesitated, grasping his own hands together into a loose fist. “I, um… Not yet, I don’t think.”

“Of course,” Connor said, withdrawing his hand with an understanding smile. ”There’s no rush to be comfortable with new things.” He addressed the question verbally without pushing the issue at all. “As I’m sure Elijah has told you, we still haven’t found Nines, but I’m confident we’re closer. Your discovery of 86 in the warehouse that day allowed us to know how he was controlling the stolen androids and we’ve implemented counter-measures. We’ve encountered him, 86, once more… thankfully without bloodshed this time, and we’ve recovered more than half of the stolen androids. Unfortunately he’s still at large, but we believe on the run.”

Gavin nodded. “You’ll find him.” He hadn’t specified who, but decided it wasn’t really necessary. 

“I suspect you saved a lot of lives, Gavin.”

“Huh?”

“Finding out about that warehouse, running in there to confront the 86. If you hadn’t done those things… I realize you paid the ultimate price, and I’m sorry I failed to be there to protect you. But there’s no way we could know a fraction of what we’ve learned if you hadn’t noticed something suspicious in the first place.” 

He wasn’t sure how to appreciate what Connor was saying without sounding like a dumbass with the truth: that none of that had even entered his mind at all. He was just looking for his boyfriend, and he would’ve run straight off the edge of a cliff to chase a bird if it looked enough like Nines. He chose just to shrug and say, “I’m glad it helped, and I’m glad they have you helping the...” 

The front door swung open, causing all 3 of them to jump in surprise. A soaking wet Hank Anderson walked in, fussing with an umbrella that seemingly hadn’t fulfilled its purpose very well. “Hey, guys,” he said without looking up as he set the umbrella down by the door and began to remove his jacket, continuing with his back turned, “I didn’t know you were coming over, Mr. Kamski.”

Connor’s eyes were huge and Elijah looked like he wasn’t sure what to do. Gavin was a little slower on the uptake and the issue didn’t really hit him until Hank turned around and looked straight at him. 

It was like a scene from a cheesy sci-fi movie where some alien force stops time. Hank froze. He didn’t blink, he didn’t breathe, the room was absolutely silent. Gavin’s eyes shot nervously from Hank’s to Eli’s and back. After enough time passed that Hank would’ve won any staring and breath-holding contest, the man stiffened upright, turned and said, “Nope. Fuck this,” and walked right back out the door into the pouring rain, now without a coat or an umbrella. 

Jumping from the couch to interject and explain, Connor reached the door before Hank could slam it in his face, but only barely, and it slammed behind them both. Connor could be heard shouting after Hank, telling him to stop, to get out of the rain, etc. They couldn’t make out exactly what Hank was saying other than a lot of swearing and something about ghosts. Eli looked at Gavin and gestured with a pointed finger at the door, “Should I..?”

Gavin shook his head quickly. “Hell no. This is a Connor job.”

Vehicle doors slammed outside and the arguing was silenced. Eli peeked out the window to see the two men now in the car, Hank gesturing emphatically while Connor held his hands out, palms facing the other to calm him down. At least they weren’t driving off, he though. “Looks to be going great,” he reported sarcastically to Gavin, who now sat with his head in his hands at the far end of the couch. 

After quite some time passed, a drenched but triumphant Connor and a relatively calmer but no less skeptical Hank eventually made their way back into the house. Gavin remained curled in on himself, trying to ignore the glare of the older man. Hank finally turned to face Elijah, taking several purposefully level breaths before asking, “Ok, so, explain this shit to me, please?”

“Everything I was doing in the hospital, the questions and the machines and such, it was for this,” he gestured toward Gavin. “He’s an android. One we hope contains all of Gavin’s memories, personality and consciousness.” 

Not missing the relevant word, Hank questioned, “Hope?” 

Eli glanced apologetically to Gavin before supplying, “He’s only been awake for a couple hours. It’ll take time for everything to settle into place for him.”

Hank turned to Connor angrily, “And you knew about this?”

“Yes. Elijah, Gavin and I were the only ones to know the plan.”

Hank ran his fingers through his silvery hair. “I… yeah, I don’t know about this. Connor coming back those times he was killed, getting over that was hard enough. But this? I mean, I just got the suit I wore to his funeral back from the dry cleaners like two weeks ago. I gave a speech to honor that man.” He nodded his head toward Gavin, but hadn’t looked at him again since walking back into the house. “And now I’m just supposed to accept that he’s back and nothing ever happened?”

“No,” Eli answered, “No one is pretending Gavin didn’t die.”

Connor added logically, “Think about it, Hank, does it really surprise you that the person who _created_ androids would find a way to preserve his brother as one when faced with a premature death?” 

Hank crossed his arms and shook his head as he tried to absorb what he was being told. A voice spoke softly from the far end of the couch, “You gave a speech at my funeral?” 

Reluctantly, Hank turned to face the new android, looking him over silently for a moment before emitting a loud sigh. “Yeah, kid, of course I did.”

Just as quietly, Gavin replied, “...Thank you.”

  
  
  



	17. Chapter 17

Once he and Connor were both changed into drier clothes, Hank wasted no time getting to the important questions. “So, is he Gavin, or is he an android that just looks and sounds exactly like Gavin?” 

His curiosity was genuine and, if Gavin was being honest, it was even a little endearing. Elijah was patient and open with his answers, and this big one was no different. “He’s entirely an android physically, there aren’t any human parts or anything. But at least for now, his thought processes are more human than machine, and based entirely on Gavin’s brain.” 

The older man scratched his bearded chin. “I’m not sure I follow exactly?”

“We captured Gavin’s instincts, memories, preferences, etcetera, before death and, where Connor might see a window with a decision prompt or a pre-constructed path appear when making a choice, Gavin’s decision making is more organic. He’s drawing thoughts from experiences and emotion before programs and mechanics, the way a human would.”

Connor hadn’t spoken up much but interjected here, “So, that hadn’t occurred to me, I suppose.” He’d known the plan, but hadn’t been much of a part of the process. “Are you saying that when Gavin is ready to exchange an interface, he could basically show me, or another android, a glimpse inside of a human thought process?” 

It hadn’t crossed Elijah’s thoughts either, and he smiled with the realization of how different the perspective would be to an android. “Yes. He absolutely could.”

As Connor looked star struck at the possibility, Hank‘s question obviously hadn’t been satisfied yet, “But is he _Gavin_.”

Everyone was quiet for a moment. Elijah looked like he wasn't sure what to say and Gavin was the one to break the silence. “I… I think that’s a ‘yes and no’ answer, maybe? There’s no magic wand here. I died. The human version of me is gone. But, I mean, we’re our mind more than our bodies, right? And I feel like I just fell asleep for a really long time and now… yeah it’s not all perfectly clear and some stuff feels weird to me but, I …definitely feel like I’m still me.”

Running his fingers along it to smooth his beard now, Hank gave a short, “Hm,” and studied Gavin. Satisfied enough though, he moved on. “So, you said he’s an RK model, does that mean he can do what Connor and Nines can too?”

“Yes, as he’s ready or interested in it. Much of those capabilities are in locked files presently… Throwing too many electronic options at him too fast could stress his thought process.”

Gavin snorted, “It's like unlocking achievements in a video game.”

Elijah ordered pizza for he and Hank, and hours passed before anyone realized it. Maybe it was the experiences with Connor that helped Hank through the situation with Gavin, but he mostly accepted it surprisingly quickly… all things considered.

Hank remarked about how incredible it was to see Gavin looking healthy again, it had been a while. The irony was lost on no one. 

By the end of it, he even agreed to approach Captain Fowler about the situation and get a feel for whether Gavin may be allowed to return to working for the DPD, though he made no promises, understandably.

Needing a more personal, delicate favor, Gavin asked Connor if he would be willing to speak with Tina. He hated having anyone else to do so for him, but if Hank’s initial reaction was anything to go by, giving his friend a heart attack by calling her from a dead man’s cell phone number probably wasn’t the best approach. 

When Gavin and Elijah returned to the house, Chloe anxiously awaited them. “Oh Gavin,” she exclaimed, planting a kiss on his cheek, “It’s so wonderful to see you!” She asked him how he was feeling and he relayed the same reassuringly positive answer he’d given everyone else. 

At one point late in the evening, she offered an interface as well, and he again declined the action. 

By the time Elijah was ready to retreat to bed, Gavin felt exhausted as well. Emotions were still draining, and that was reassuring in some way.

He crawled under the plush covers and stared up at the ceiling. No one, including him, had said anything about it, but watching Hank and Eli eat dinner had been a bizarre experience for him. He assumed that androids, (normal androids, not him) probably watched humans eat in the same way that humans watched fish breathe underwater. It was a regular thing that one did but the other didn’t, and we don’t watch the fish while thinking “Oh shit, shouldn’t I be doing that too?”

However, that is exactly how Gavin’s brain reacted to the humans eating today, after realizing he hadn’t done so in nearly two months. It wasn’t jealousy... the pizza didn’t even look all that great and obviously, he wasn’t actually hungry, since his android body didn’t eat. It was more like a mini panic attack as a most basic human instinct objected to his coding, both - accurately - insisting that the other was wrong.

Testing the same theory further, Gavin shifted in the bed and shut off his breathing. No concerns at first, it was like holding his breath. Humans could do that. 30 seconds passed, easy. A minute passed, no problem. 2 minutes passed, his stress level climbed steadily from 54 to 76. After 3 minutes and a stress level of 82, he flipped the action back on, sucking a gulp of air and hyperventilated on the bed for several seconds like he needed the oxygen desperately. 

Once he calmed down a bit, he clasped his hands over his face, sighed and whispered to himself, “Come on Gavin, get it together.” 

It was easy to tell himself logically that he didn’t need food, or sleep, or air, and his coding supported it with the simplicity of _‘yeah, no shit’_ , but all of his thoughts and feelings originated in a brain who’s most fundamental tasks were making sure his body did all of those things like clockwork. 

So he laid in bed with the storm of conflict raging in his head. He was emotionally drained, and his mind begged for rest ( _and food, water, shouldn’t he have taken a piss at some point today? What do you mean you won’t eat all day tomorrow or the next or the following? Yawn, god damnit!_ ) it didn’t really need but the thought of stasis terrified him, akin to the idea of falling asleep underwater. 

His stress levels had dropped from their suffocation panic spike, but still remained high overall. They were probably nearing dangerous levels, even for an android, and he should ask Eli for help. But what if his brother thought he’d failed in some way? He was stressed too, and Gavin didn’t want to burden him after he’d already done so much more than anyone could be asked for. 

Gavin turned to his side and hugged a pillow against himself. He couldn’t bring himself to consciously flip a switch into stasis, but maybe his mind still worked enough like a human that he could effectively fall asleep? He nuzzled his face into the soft pillow. 

Almost immediately, a file of Nines’ fingers carding gentle strokes through his hair played as a self-recommended relaxation technique. His head jerked up, startled by how _real_ the sensation felt and he glanced around to confirm the bed was indeed empty other than himself. Settling back into the pillow, he cautiously allowed the file to resume on a loop, _feeling_ the weight and drag of his boyfriend’s hand soothing him and soon enough, as he drifted toward something close enough to sleep to calm him, he wondered how he’d ever survived so long without the capability. 

  
  


Late the following morning, Tina’s number came up on his cell phone’s caller ID. He stared at it, stuck in fright. What if Connor hadn’t told her yet, and she just wanted to hear Gavin’s voice on the recording or something? He didn’t think they really had that specific kind of friendship but who knows, people did that stuff. And what would she do if she’d only been expecting the voicemail but he answered? 

Worse, what if Connor _had_ already told her and she actually wanted to talk to him? The Tina Temper was a thing, and Gavin might have been better off staying dead than facing the angry Asian chick he'd kept in the proverbial dark. 

He didn’t answer the phone. 

12 seconds later, a text notification appeared. 

“ _What the fuck, Gavin? How could you not have told me any of this?_ ”

Shit. She knew. 

“ _Where are you? I’m coming to see you in person. Now.”_

He considered having her meet him at the apartment, but what if someone there saw him? He stared at the phone for a minute trying to figure out what to do.

“ _I will melt your new high tech plastic ass back to death if you don’t answer me, Gavin Reed_.” 

_Fuck_. He texted a reply containing only Elijah’s address, and hoped she wouldn’t show up with sirens blaring and blowtorch in hand. 

Although skeptical, thankfully she was mostly just happy to see him when she arrived and after addressing some of the basics, Tina looked him up and down, narrowing her eyes. She began to quiz him, “When did we meet?”

“The first day of the police academy. When Allen was a total creep and asked for your number, you flipped him off. I liked you immediately.”

She smirked, and continued, “What did I buy you for your birthday last year?”

“A mug with a police car with rainbow lights that says ‘Pride Police’ on it.”

She snorted, “I actually forgot about that one myself. I was thinking about the other thing?”

“A gift card to a sex toy place in town. You made me open it in front of Nines and I thought my face was going to melt off I blushed so hard.” Adding as an afterthought, “Bitch,” as he felt his face blush slightly even now. 

Tina grinned ear to ear. “You were mortified, it was glorious! Ok, umm, Why did I drop out of high school?”

“I, uhh…” He thought for a minute but sighed, disappointed. “I don’t actually know that one. Eli said there’d be gaps and bits of missing memory, I’m sorry.” 

“That’s ok, I can tell you again,” she offered with a small but kind smile before continuing, “Um.. What was I wearing to the Christmas party last year?” 

He considered this one carefully too. The files in his mind automatically brought up a photo of the two of them from the event. _That’s handy_ , he thought - she was wearing a beautiful deep green cocktail dress. Ironically though, he believed the image might be an unfair advantage. He asked instead, “Would I have remembered that shit when I was human?” 

She laughed and flung her arms around him in a giant bear hug. He slowly returned the embrace, realizing it was the first time this new version of him had been hugged, and it seemed fitting that it would come from Tina. She admitted into the collar of his jacket, “That one was a trick question.” 

Pulling back from the hug, she looked him over again more carefully. “Well, you look like you’re supposed to look, and I think your attitude is even better than it was, so no complaints there.” He wasn’t sure if she was kidding or not, but didn’t ask. “I’m hurt that you didn’t tell me though. About this, about having a brother? That’s big no matter who he is, Gavin!” 

“I know Tina, I’m sorry. There’s a lot to it, to all of it… but the last thing I wanted was for anyone, you especially, to bank on me coming back and then, what if I didn’t? If the wires all got crossed and it didn’t work at all or I wasn’t… me?”

She frowned but finally admitted, “I guess I get it. I’ve just missed you and wish I could’ve known there was even a chance of you coming back.” She added with a bit more attitude, “Do you have any idea how many tears you could’ve saved me?” 

Gavin looked to the ground and repeated an apology before they were both quiet for a moment. They were standing near her cruiser and she dipped her head toward it. “Well I’m still on duty, so I should get going. Do you think Fowler will let you come back to work?”

“No idea. I understand if not though, I’m sure it’d be weird for everyone.”

“Only for a while. We’d get used to it and lord knows we could use the manpower. Everyone’s working overtime with you and Nines gone and Connor helping the government or whatever he’s doing now.” She gave him a cheerful smile and winked, “I’ll put in a good word for you,” as she got situated in the cruiser. “Either way, I want to see you Gavin, often. I’ve missed you.”

“Me too. Thanks for understanding, Tina.” 

“I don’t understand. The _how_ part, I mean. But you’re my friend and if this is what you wanted, want? whatever.. Then I’m just happy to have you back.” 

*****

  
  
A week passed. Gavin was going stir crazy but kept himself busy enough, learning new things he could do and spending time with the few people who knew he existed. He’d basically moved in with Elijah and Chloe, they insisted they didn’t mind but Gavin continued to make sure rent for his apartment was being paid from his savings as well, though he hadn’t even been back there himself. Elijah had already picked up most of his clothes for him before bringing him back as an android.

His brother’s generosity was so far beyond anything he could’ve asked for, but Gavin still yearned for the day he and Nines would be back in their little apartment together. 

In the interim, he was adjusting, slowly, though most of his more mechanical capabilities were still turned off and he was unwilling to interface with anyone. The idea of it frightened him and despite Chloe and Connor’s gentle efforts, he refused. He did finally accept stasis though, to the sensation of Nines’ fingers running soothing strokes through his hair every single night. The phantom touch wasn’t enough, but it helped.

The fairly high stress level, somewhere generally between 60 and 70 persisted, but he was learning how to control it, somewhat. 

When Fowler asked Kamski for a private meeting to discuss Gavin and his suitability for work, Gavin buzzed with nervous energy for days leading up to the plans, and then drove Chloe up the wall with his pacing and irritable restlessness while the two men were off deciding his future. It was a constant stream of “This is bullshit” here and “I worked my ass off for that job” there. 

He stayed where he could see the driveway and watched for his brother’s car like a dog waiting for their owner to return home. When the car finally arrived and to his surprise, Jeffrey Fowler stepped out of it alongside Elijah, he made a little squeak of surprise and ran to his bedroom to change into something far more professional than the baggy stuff he’d been slumming around in for ~~days~~ weeks.

Fowler’s poker face was on point. He looked Gavin over and got straight to business. “So here’s the thing, Reed, we can’t just hire you back like you took a leave of absence or something. You’re legally not the same person.”

“Yes sir, I understand.”

“So we’d be bringing you on as a new hire and…” 

Fowler kept talking, but Gavin stopped hearing what he was saying and interrupted. “Yeah, yeah I don’t care about the pay cut and shit, does that mean you’ll hire me back?” 

The captain cleared his throat and frowned, turning toward Elijah. “You made him too much like Gavin.”

“Hey, fuc-....” he bit the words off, now _might_ be a good time to practice just a bit of restraint, but finished “I _am_ Gavin.”

Fowler gave him a glance that aptly conveyed ‘ _Yeah, you better watch that tongue_ ,‘ and a slight look of satisfaction that he’d done so. “How the hell did I let Anderson talk me into this…” he muttered under his breath.

“Is that a yes?” 

Fowler huffed a large sigh. “I’ll be sending an employment packet with the new information over for you to fill out this afternoon. If you accept everything, fair warning, you’ll be partnering with Anderson until Connor comes back. I won’t tolerate one word of bullshit about it from either of you, you understand me, Reed?”

It was all Gavin could do to contain himself, he practically burst with excitement. “Yes sir, understood sir.” 

“Good. Program that reply as the correct way to address your superior from now on, Reed.”

“Yes, sir.”

They both knew _that_ part wasn’t going to happen. 

  
  


It was awkward and uncomfortable being back at work, and most people had no idea how to treat him, so they simply avoided him. It was to be expected. And as far as Gavin was concerned, it was his preference to be left alone anyway. Business as usual. 

And it wasn’t as bad as he thought to be Hank’s partner. They fell into productive efficiency and solved several cases together as weeks passed. 

Everything was going relatively well. 

He and Chloe were in the kitchen one evening working on a recipe she’d found for Elijah. A transmission came through to Gavin, surprising him and he paused mid-stir before dropping the whole pot to the floor with a loud and messy clatter. 

  
RK800-54 - We found him, Gavin. We found Nines.

*****

The sound of static grew louder slowly, drowning out any other noise that might have been detectable, and his optical input must be damaged somehow as well; his vision was pitch black. 

Nines internal clock told him it had been 6 months 3 days and 18 hours since he was last online, and for well over half of that time, he’d been completely shut down. What changed that they’d be powering him back up now?

He was still offline and unable to communicate using anything other than his voice or body. He tried to speak, but the words were nothing but garbled static, and he didn’t seem to have much better control over the rest of his body either. 

A warming energy was flowing into him though and it took him only a moment to identify that it was Thirium, filling his components with the literal elixir of life. It seeped into and through him like rain filling cracks in the desert.

Once again he tried to use his hands, wanting to sign “help me,” but to no avail, they still wouldn’t move and again, more static was the only result of trying to speak. It would’ve been pointless anyway... These people weren’t here to help him, they probably just wanted to try to interrogate him again, another attempt to access his encrypted files. They could try, but his body would be as useless to them as it was to him currently, and they’d never access what they wanted in his files. Someone was trying to initiate an interface, but he blocked the effort. He stopped trying to communicate, letting himself go limp, silent and blind.

They tried to force an interface this time, he strengthened his firewall against it. Hands were touching him, striking him on the face even, though no damage seemed to occur. Thirium continued to work its magic, and as the roar of static began to fade slowly, he heard voices— though he couldn’t tell who’s, or what they were saying. 

Wait, one of the voices was familiar. It couldn’t be though, the 86 must just be trying to fool him into lowering his defenses. It was so convincing, but… Connor was dead. 86 had bragged all about killing his brother and friend shortly after fooling his boyfriend into sleeping with him… if you could call it that. The other 900 had shown him proof of the shooting too, and there was no way Connor could’ve been recovered from that injury. 

He receded further into himself. Shortly after showing him the video feeds of hurting the person who mattered the most to him and killing the close second, 86 had inserted a wire into the port at the back of his neck and unceremoniously shut him down. He’d been helpless, useless to stop it. Any of it. If 86 was back now to rub more of his failures in his face, he didn’t need or want to see them. 

Suddenly, his optical input went from the black depths of nothingness to the blinding brightness of a halogen spotlight. It caused him to jolt on the... what was this, a table? A cot. There were bars. A cage? Why was he in a cage? 

Connor? Could 86 make himself look like Connor, too? Surely not, if he couldn’t himself. But Connor was dead. 

None of this made sense. He rebooted himself. 

Brown eyes, just inches from his face. The warm chocolate brown of Connor’s eyes, and upon what must’ve been the recognition in his own, a smile that matched. 

A voice that completed the vision filtered through the white noise, softening the edges of it and making the words velvet-wrapped. “Nines? Can you hear me?”

He managed with greater ease than the last attempt, “Connor?” The 800’s smile broadened in reply. “But you’re dead.”

He hesitated, “I was, yes, I didn’t think you’d know that.”

His thoughts were still gapped, unclear, like chunks of relevant programming was missing. “He showed me.”

“Oh, oh. I’m.. I’m so sorry, Nines.” 

He was hiding something. Nines didn’t trust it. “Where are we, Connor?”

“Back in the US, in a government facility. We needed their technicians' help to revive you.”

Could this really be true? He was so hesitant to hope. He shook his head as though it would help clear the residual slush of being shut down for so long. He sat upright and looked over himself, the bindings were gone. But, looking up… the cage... he was in a jail cell. He tried repeatedly in rapid succession to connect to any sort of network. It was his lifeline, his way to communicate and exist outside of himself and still, no, he couldn’t connect. 

This had to be a trick, 86 was fooling him. Not again. He leapt up with a roar, wrapping his fists in this imposter’s jacket and hurled him against the cell bars, hard enough to hear plastic crack. The Connor doppelgänger’s eyes widened with fear. He snarled into the face of the other android. “Who are you and where are we? Why am I in a jail cell?”

“Nines! No, it’s me!” the other insisted. “Here, look!” he offered, peeling back the skin on his cheek to expose his serial number. The same as his own, other than the final numbers, 54. Connor’s designation. 

“I don’t believe you,” he challenged, pressing the man harder against the bars. “Why would you be here, why would I be in a jail cell and why am I unable to connect to any network?”

“Because I’ve been helping the FBI ever since we found out there was another RK900 behind this. And the other things, I insisted on for your safety and everyone else’s.” He gestured vaguely to the position Nines was holding him in as evidence of the sound reasoning behind the choice. “No one knew how much control 86 may have over you, or how you would react to being woken up.” 

Nines kept the 800 pinned against the bars, but relaxed his hold and allowed the man’s feet to rest on the concrete floor. A small sneer narrowed one eye. “He’d never have _control_ over me.” 

“We had to err on the side of caution. Forgive that we don’t know all of his capabilities, Nines.”

“He’s still out there? At large?”

“Yes, though we’ve been close a few times. And we caught his right-hand-man, if you will... that’s how we were able to find you.”

He still wasn’t completely convinced, but had to admit everything was fairly believable. He finally released the other android from his grip. “Why don’t I have network access, and how are you not dead?”

“Elijah Kamski fixed me. And… there are some things we need to talk about before I restore your external communication access.”

That Kamski would make time for a Police android confused him, but he shelved that one. “What sort of things? We’re wasting time. I need to go after him before he hurts ...someone.” He had a very specific someone in mind.

Connor spoke softly, “You said he showed you video of shooting me, has he been back here, with you, since then?”

“No. He shut me down after bragging about defeating you and … hurting Gavin. I need to reach Gavin, I need to warn him.” The face Connor made unsettled Nines deeply. Fear and rage wove and danced with one another in his gut. 

“Nines, I. I’m so sorry, but I failed the task you asked of me.”

“What are you talking about, Connor?”

“The 86 came back to Detroit and, he… Gavin confronted him, and, I’m sorry, Nines, Gavin was shot and..”

No. No, this wasn’t happening. This couldn’t be reality. “Show me, Connor.” He shoved his hand out as the skin retracted, demanding the information.

Connor held his own hand back, hesitant. “It’s very complicated, Nines. It may be best to tell you the old fashioned way.”

Not a chance. He stepped into the 800, growling the words. “Show me, _now_.” It wasn’t a request. Connor’s entire demeanor was pained, but he complied with the insistence. He took Nines’ hand in both of his, bringing the contact to his chest, cradling the embrace like it would protect the recipient. He locked eyes with Nines and with a saddened frown, he showed him. Brief snippets of data passed, each its own blink of information— Connor awoken, Gavin in a hospital bed, a funeral, a brand new android. 

Nines stared into his brother’s eyes, frozen by abject horror. _No. No, N̢̟̘̖̹̦̕O҉̳̦̀ Ń̸̡̰͙̘͚̼͕̪͎͎̳Ó̴̙̘̗̭͞ń̷̛̤̟͔̩͓̱̹̠̺͍̼͘͟o̶̶̱̰̠̘̖̻͕̯ͅń̛̘͙̼̺͇̣o҉̴̖̪̣̟̙̞̤̱̜͍̹̭̦͇̰̫̲̕͟͠n̴̡͚̲̖͖͉͍̩̺͙̯̳̟̫͕͢͠o̵̶̡̡̖̜̹ͅǹ̷̠̗̭̰͝ó̢̠̟̯̗̬̪͙̜̱̤̤͙̥͢͝_

_  
  
_*****

  
  


RKOG2 - You’re killing me with silence, Connor. When will y’all be home?

RK800-54 - Another couple of days, probably. 

RKOG2 - I’m just so excited to see him, I can’t contain myself. I’m gonna short out or something. 

RK800-54 - He needs time, Gavin.

RKOG2 - Time for what? It’s been days already and I still haven’t even heard his voice. Doesn’t he want to talk to me?

RK800-54 - I’m sorry, Gavin. I hate to tell you this way but no, he doesn’t.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rest In Peace to anyone who thought the angst would end when Nines returned.
> 
> Next chapter will be a long one while Nines faces all of his biggest fears.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Graphic Depiction of Violence occurs when Nines finds 86. If you’re bothered by it, just skip to the following ***** break.

A soft knock rapped on the bedroom door- Chloe’s polite imposition. He’d come to know the sound well this past week, having hardly left the room other than to go to work. “Gavin? Connor’s here.” 

Favorite android body capability so far? Playing Tetris in his head when he didn’t feel like being social. Gavin slotted an “L” shaped thing into a “z” shaped thing and paused the game. He rotated his face to the side so that his voice wouldn’t be muffled by the pillow, “Thanks. I’ll be there in a minute.”

There wouldn’t be good news, that part was made clear. But maybe there would be hope? Nines and Connor had been back for 4 days, and Nines was still unwilling to speak to or see Gavin. His cell number and serial number for intranet communication had been blocked by the 900.

Connor was waiting for him outside, on the privacy of the dock. Gavin stuffed his hands into his pockets and trudged toward him with all the enthusiasm of a kid who’d been told Santa hadn’t come on Christmas morning. “Hey, Connor.”

“Good afternoon, Gavin. How have y..”

“I, let's just not, with that stuff... How is he?”

“He’s… he’s about as well as can be expected, I believe.”

“Why won’t he talk to me?”

Connor signed. “He’s not ready. You have to understand Gavin, the rest of us had time. We coped with your death, we mourned. He’s been abused and locked away for months and wakes up to the news that the love of his life was killed by the same man that defeated him. That is a lot to wrap his mind around.”

Gavin’s face twisted into a scowl. “Don’t say that.”

“What?”

“Defeated. Nines has never been _defeated_ by shit.” He paused to glare briefly at the other android, who didn't seem to know how to respond. “But I know it’s a lot and I just, he doesn’t have to go through it alone though, Connor, I just want to help him!”

Connor exhaled softly through his nose. “I know you do, but he’s having trouble accepting what happened and he’s wracked with guilt and failure. He’s angry at... everyone, heartbroken and lost.” 

“But I’m _right here_!”

“ _You_ are. The person he loved is not.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?!”

“You _knew_ this, Gavin. Before your death and the choices you made. You accepted you’d be different and that he may not understand, remember? Do you need to see your own recording?”

Gavin’s brow was furrowed as he looked out at the frigid, grey waters beyond them, licking his lips to moisten them against the chilly evening wind. The recording. He’d been human still and _nothing_ then was guaranteed. Nines was still lost. They didn’t know if Gavin’s consciousness transfer would even work. They hoped for lots of things, but they didn’t _know_ who’d be waking up inside of Eli’s creation. And now, he was the only person who really understood how well it had worked. He felt suddenly small, isolated within himself. “Has he even seen the recording?”

“No, he refuses to watch it.”

The wind whipped around them as a gust caused the boards to creak, the sound echoed in his mind as whispers of the things that Gavin feared most. He cast his eyes down to their feet. “I feel like I’m going to lose him, Connor. What do I do?”

“You give him time.”

Gavin stared across the darkening horizon, nodding stiffly and then turned back toward the mansion, walking away without another word. 

  
  


Time passed. Another month. Gavin was settled back into work, still mostly with Hank as Connor helped the government track 86 and more of their missing androids. He and Hank were becoming quite reasonable with one another, an effective team despite the initial reservations from them both. Other days he was on his own, and that was fine with him too.

Gavin still lived with Elijah and Chloe and had given his apartment keys to Connor weeks ago when he'd offered, without being asked, that Nines should move back into it. He hadn’t been back since the day after 86 shot Connor anyway and knew things must be getting cramped at Hank’s with Nines staying there. He hadn’t seen a glimpse nor heard a word from the man since… well, since he boarded a plane over 7 months ago, now. 

Days passed, habits formed and routine plans were made for the near and distant future. He was settling into a whole new normal, though many ‘android things’ still bothered him. Most notably, interfacing. He still refused the action, even from Connor and Chloe, and even when it would’ve made his job simpler.

But otherwise, his existence was getting easier and easier overall, except that the awareness nagged constantly at his heels… that none of it involved Nines. It was torture beyond words that the man he loved was _so_ close, but completely unreachable. The phantom touch of his fingers in Gavin’s hair still greeted him in bed every night. The ghost of a fleeting love. 

Gavin hid near the apartment twice, hoping to catch even just a glimpse of him, proof for himself that he really existed still maybe. But... nothing. He didn’t even know for sure whether Nines was staying there or was still at Hank’s with Connor. He muttered to himself each time about how desperate and cringey and stupid he was being before bawling alone in his Jeep. 

He wanted more than anything else in the world for Nines to be happy. But he'd be lying to deny that he still hoped he would be _part of_ the happiness. 

But maybe Connor was wrong. Maybe all the time in the world wouldn’t help Nines understand, and how long should a person keep trying, when they weren’t wanted?

*****

When Connor held the keys out to him, Gavin’s little cat keychain still on the fob, Nines was glad his emotions were switched off entirely. He held his palm open as the small object came to rest on it, the gravity of it far surpassing its weight and even without the emotions in place, his logic insisted that this was _wrong._

The apartment was _theirs_ , how could he live there without Gavin? Did he even want to step foot in the place knowing Gavin never would again? How could he possibly lie in their bed alone? Despite Hank’s instance otherwise however, he knew it was becoming a burden to have him staying there. With bitter reluctance, he closed his hand around the key. 

If he thought taking the key was hard, walking into the apartment was torture. Nines stared at the door later that same night, key in hand, unable to bring himself to perform the simple task he’d done thousands of times. Laughter and footsteps down the hall - presumably a neighbor approaching their own apartment - finally urged him to move from his awkward position facing a closed door. 

~~Their~~ The apartment was small, but the emptiness resounded like a cavernous expanse. Nines walked around, surveying the space he hadn’t seen in months. Everything was tidy enough, things were mostly in their usual place and most of Gavin’s clothes were the only items he immediately identified as missing once he made his way into the bedroom. 

The sheets were stripped from the bed and he located them in the dryer. Plopping the pile of them into the mattress, he grabbed an edge of the bottom sheet and tossed the fabric outward to spread it across the bed. An alert popped up in his field of vision. The sheet fell from Nines’ grasp. 

Human blood on the white fabric. Gavin’s blood. Barely visible, but his scans hadn’t missed it and an instability warning lurched upward. 

Hurriedly scooping all of the sheets back into a ball, he practically ran with them toward the kitchen and dumped them into the trash can, slamming the lid shut like they may try to push their way out. He stared down at the bin as his internal fans ramped up to cool his system. 

If he had the place to do so, he’d burn the sheets, the mattress, hell maybe the whole house down to never see that alert again. There would be no touching the bed in which 86 had made his boyfriend bleed. Was that the last time Gavin had been in their bed as well? He didn’t want to think about it but the thoughts just kept coming, and he knew they weren’t going to stop until every piece of plastic, metal and Thirium that had once been his identical twin lay in pieces of blue-tinged confetti around him.

Focusing his rage on the other 900 is what had gotten him through these weeks, but it was also a contributing factor (albeit not the largest factor) in his emotions needing to be off. He was too easily angered, and too often unfair to Connor especially. Not to be confused with being more angry with Connor than he was at himself, that certainly wasn’t the case… but _he_ deserved the hatred and guilt, Connor did not. 

No, he wasn’t directly angry with Connor at all. He’d asked his brother to keep an eye over Gavin’s general well being and occasionally questionable decision making, he never could have expected Connor to encounter such an impossible set of circumstances as had occurred. But, the 800’s insistence that he shouldn’t obsess over destroying 86 was as grating as his frequent (though far more gentle) suggestion to meet this RKOG2 android. Preposterous concepts, both of them. He and 86 had no more in common just because they shared a face than the G2 did with Gavin. 

Decidedly, with emotions out of the way, he could be reasonable and collected. And when he sat down on the couch and glanced up to notice that a photograph of he and Gavin had been turned face-down on the shelf, it was definitely not emotion that drew a small, pained gasp from his throat. 

Had 86 done that or had Gavin? And why was the latter the more ~~painful~~ undesirable option? He picked it up carefully, swiping a finger across the glass. 

The image brought up accompanying videos of the beach trip, Gavin playing in the waves and stretched out in the sun. Too long in the sun, he recalled, and a nasty sunburn resulted. One of Nines’ favorite memories would always be sunburned Gavin kneeling on the beach with a huge grin on his face as a couple of baby sea turtles made their way from the nest to the waves. He hovered protectively to make sure nothing and no one interrupted the tiny creatures’ path. He’d beamed a kid in the face with their own inflatable beach ball when they’d recklessly played too close and almost hit one of the baby turtles with the ball. Protective Gavin was an adorable sight.

If only Nines had been there to protect his human with the same dedication.

He wasn’t allowed to hunt down 86 with the FBI or Connor now, he was told he would be too emotionally invested, possibly blinded by personal motive. 

It didn’t worry him… he’d find the man on his own. 

In the interim, he only went into stasis while seated at the couch, hardly setting foot in the bedroom again other than to grab some of his own clothes. He avoided reminders of Gavin, good and bad, and focused on avenging him instead. 

Sunlight barely filtered through the blinds one morning a few days later when he received an email from Elijah Kamski - the man requested a meeting. Nines struggled with the choice but agreed to it as long as the android everyone kept calling Gavin wasn’t there. It was arranged for the following day, when he would be at work.

It was interesting to meet the ‘bot that started it all,’ so to speak. Chloe struck Nines as the picture of graceful servitude, just as the father of androids had made her. She was kind and inviting, even excited to meet him it seemed, but Nines secretly pitied her. Surely it was her programmed servitude keeping her at the behest of the man who’d made her.

She led him to a library of sorts within the mansion where Kamski was seated behind a desk, typing away at something. When Chloe departed, the man looked up at him, studying him silently for several moments. “I appreciate you accepting my invitation,” Elijah said, “I wasn’t sure you would.”

Nines stood stiffly, shoulders squared and hands clasped behind his back. “I struggled with the decision, I assure you,” he returned dryly. 

“Why did you?”

“Because I felt I owed it to Gavin. I’m not sure why he never mentioned you, but I decided it would be rude to deny one meeting with his brother.”

“Mmm. I can tell you if you’d like... why Gavin never mentioned me. I’d assume it would fall into the same reasons he kept it from everyone else.”

“No need, it doesn’t matter really at this point.”

Elijah shrugged, “Fair enough.” 

“Is there a specific reason you asked me here today, Mr. Kamski?”

“Of course. I wanted to meet the man my brother loves.”

“Loved.”

Kamski paused, giving Nines a small smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “He spoke very highly of you. Even when everyone else told him it was you who’d shot him. He said something must’ve taken over your body, or a virus or something. That _you_ would never do such a thing.”

Nines stiffened even further at the suggestion. “I wouldn’t. I’d tear my own regulator out before I would’ve hurt Gavin.”

“Mmm. Physically, you mean, right? Or do you not believe refusing to even listen to his last dying wishes would have hurt him?”

900 grit his teeth, unable to fully hide his distaste for wherever Kamski was going with this. “I _believe_ he’s dead and wouldn’t want me to torment myself with things that can’t be changed.”

“Except that he specifically asked you to watch his message. It was literally his only request of the man he loved, and still loves beyond reason.” 

For good reason, no one has every accused Elijah Kamski of being stupid. Nines’ upper lip quivered in an almost-snarl. But as much as he wanted to knock the ponytail off of him, he couldn’t deny that the man had a point.

Elijah seized the opportunity within his internal conflict and held a small flash drive out toward him. “I will forewarn you, to be fair,” he said as he practically shoved the item into Nines’ hand, “this is from Gavin’s perspective. It’ll be closer to an interface and you’ll receive his emotion and other thoughts that intertwined with his words. Connor’s version is simply a video of Gavin speaking the same message. I don’t think Gavin, when he made this, would’ve cared which version you watched, as long as you heard him out.” 

“Nothing on this file is going to change my thoughts on this, you know that, right?” 

Eli shrugged. “He asked that you watch it. What you do with whatever his message is, that's entirely up to you.”

Nines looked down at the drive, “RKOG2” was written on it. He recognized it from some of Connor’s ramblings and questioned with a disgusted sneer, “Why the serial number?”

Eli shrugged, “Gavin picked it, it’s a play on an old inside joke.”

“Gavin? Or the mannequin wearing his face?” 

“That’s a lot of hate from someone with the same components as that ‘mannequin’…”

Nines raised his chin, thankful the lack of excess emotion would enable him to keep his tone from becoming too angered. “Same? There’s nothing the same between us. I wasn’t made to be some replacement attempt by a delusional ass hole who’d rather play dress up with a complicated doll than cope with the loss of his real brother.”

Anger might not have entered his tone but even Nines was a bit taken aback by the venom in his words. He stuck by them, though. Etiquette be damned. 

Eli was silenced momentarily by the sting. He finally voiced, “You're right. You were _made_ as one of thousands to be built. A production line of machines who looked, acted and obeyed exactly like you were supposed to. And yet, here you stand as an individual- A man of your own volition. Your coding, and your memories… they define you.” Eli paused to take a sip of water and constructed the rest of the argument in his head.

He set the glass down gently and continued, “If your coding is the equivalent, and I believe it is, of the genetics that lay the framework for our fundamental and individual human temperament… how then can you argue that the concept of programming an artificial version of the same framework and uploading the same memories will result in an abomination of the original? Was Connor 52 so different from Connor 54?”

“That’s no comparison. Connor was MADE to BE an android! A deviant, even!”

“Right,” Eli admitted, “And Gavin was made of flesh. Weak flesh that failed him. He asked me for this, we discussed it at gruesome length, I assure you. He was well aware of the differences and hurdles he’d be faced with. Would you like to see the videos of those conversations as well?”

Nines was the one silenced this time. The thought of watching videos of the man he loved, the _real_ man when he was still alive and struggling with the end of his life, he didn’t really know whether he wanted to see that.

Connor had shown him just a glimpse, when he’d foolishly insisted on proof of Gavin’s death (as though the 800 would ever lie about such a thing). The man he remembered with such determination and bite laid pale and gaunt in a hospital bed as he struggled to breathe. “I don’t wish to spend any more time being tormented by this than I already have. I’ll take this, and watch it. You’re correct, as much as I hate to admit it, I owe it to Gavin to hear out his last request.” 

“Thank you, I appreciate and respect that,” Elijah stated as he walked with Nines back toward the entrance to the home. “One last thought before you go, please, something I’d ask you to consider.” He turned to face him, demanding Nines’ full attention. ”If you had been found a day before Gavin died, had rushed to his bedside unable to save him but blessed with time to spend together before he passed, and he told you then of his preference and our plan, would you still be so opposed? Would you have kissed him goodbye and told him not to bother contacting you even if he woke up with the same consciousness in a different body?”

The question crashed straight through every one of Nines’ logical defenses. 

*****

Call it superior programming, similar programming, twin telepathy or whatever you want… Nines found 86 like it was nothing compared to the length of time the entire FBI and Connor had been searching for him. 

It appeared that his primary hideout was a former textile factory, long ago closed and forgotten about, the “for sale” sign out front hung sideways and barely legible. Broken work tables and half-rotted cardboard boxes littered the large space and the late afternoon sun illuminated the dust in the air as it filtered through cracked and missing window panes. 

Nines had the advantage this time. 86 would assume he was still locked away, powered off and forgotten about, and would not be expecting him.

A concealed vantage point allowed Nines to watch 86 for several minutes. He could’ve employed similar tactics to what had captured _him..._ but that would be unsatisfying. He could’ve dropped 86 like a rag doll with a rifle, but that would be far too easy. A primordial need for violence had begun churning in Nines the moment 86 taunted him with memories of Connor and Gavin, and that hunger would not be satiated until his evil twin was torn limb from limb. 

No, simply killing the other 900 wasn’t his goal. He would confront him face to face. And he would _obliterate_ him. He even reactivated his emotions for the fight. This was personal and he would _enjoy_ it.

Waiting until his quarry was relatively cornered, Nines approached him boldly, like a predator closing in on ensnared prey. The surprise on the other android’s face brought a devilish curl to Nines’ lips as he quickly closed the distance between them. 

86 scrambled to arm himself, grabbing a metal pipe and swinging on him. A solid blow connected with Nines’ shoulder, but he regained his balance against one of the large wooden support columns. There was a hurried flutter of wings from above them as pigeons were startled from their roosts.

Nines successfully blocked the next swing with his foot and grabbed the pipe on the following attempt, yanking it free from 86’s grasp and returning a crack to the android’s right temple. Nines closed in further as 86 steadied himself upright against a stack of pallets. 

When 86 snarled in anger and opened his mouth to speak, Nines’ hand snapped forward in a flash, fingers entering his mouth, thumb underneath his chin, grasping the man’s whole lower jaw in a fist. The android’s teeth were a row of rigid sharpness against his tightly-gripped palm. He shoved forward away from himself, dislocating the hinge components, twisted his fist sideways to further separate the jaw and yanked back hard, ripping it off entirely. 

Blue blood ran from the gaping absence, down 86’s throat and dripping from the tongue that now dangled uselessly. The skin all around the damage glitched with the sudden loss. 

86 took no time to recover from the painless loss of the largely unnecessary appendage and his fist connected hard at the left side of Nines’ face, cracking the chassis below his eye. His visual feed from that side became pixelated and blurred, damage error messages fizzled into background information. 

Nines attempted to take the other android to the ground with a leg-sweep, but it was met with equal force and neither were rocked. Each man attempted several other exchanges that ended similarly... The two were perfectly matched in power, speed, and calculating one-another’s moves and it was quickly becoming a frustrating and fruitless struggle. 

Nines had a weakness however, and 86 exploited it as soon as he could snag the opportunity. He grabbed Nines by the wrist and aimed straight for the heart. Not his Thirium pump, regulator or physical component, mind you, but the core of his emotion. Where he couldn’t get an upper hand in the fight, he impaled Nines with his loss and inadequacy to protect his lover.

The barrage of 86’s memories consumed Nines. Gavin on his knees, yelping in pain as 86 clamped a hand over his mouth. Blood on the sheets. Gavin’s eyes blowing wide in surprise when a gun was leveled with his chest. Gavin writhing in pain as shock gripped him, splayed out on the concrete as blood soaked his clothing and a pool of it painted the concrete red. 

It was effective, and Nines was overtaken by the images that dumped every ounce of guilt and sorrow he’d been avoiding for weeks onto him with the force of an avalanche. Each moment in the memories grated like a wire brush against a fresh wound. In a rather sad thought however, it was likely that 86 had never loved anyone like Nines loved Gavin, and without that love, he couldn’t have known what it was like to lose that person, and he couldn’t have known that such emotion could be powder keg. And unbeknownst to him, he’d lit a match. 

It fueled a rage within Nines as red as the blood seeping from Gavin onto the concrete. 

The RK900s were created to be hunters. A wolf lived inside them, and Gavin had befriended and tamed even that part of Nines. Without the love and security of that master, the animal ran feral again, and Nines’ rage boiled over into the kind of passionate fury that transcends statistical physical capabilities as his singular existence became destruction of the man who’d killed his human. 

Interlacing 86’s fingers between his own, Nines twisted the other’s wrist impossibly backwards and holding tight to the arm as leverage, he hurled 86’s back against another support beam, catching the opposite arm as it swung around toward him. Nines placed his foot up on the wooden pillar for leverage and using it as a fulcrum point, yanked both of the other android’s arms backwards. 86 strained and wrestled with all of his might against the hold, but Nines continued to pull until the sounds of twisting and snapping plastic, like a large dog chewing on a water bottle, echoed against the abandoned walls. 

Thirium sprayed from the slowly separating shoulder components and sparks popped as wires stretched thin before fraying and splitting. The arms went limp in Nines’ hands and before the other android could lean forward and bring himself to his feet, Nines gripped his neck from behind. 

With a hard twist and ferocious yank, 86’s head was separated from his body. The LED stuttered in and out of red momentarily before submitting to grey nothingness as the final wires running from his neck down into the torso snapped. 

The shell of the other RK sank to the concrete with a hollow, wet thud. Nines knelt beside the broken pieces and lifting 86’s shirt ( _his_ shirt, actually), he accessed the Thirium pump regulator, ejecting the cylinder from its housing. He held it in his hand, studying it, before popping it into air and catching it like you would a baseball as he stood upright. 

Nines stumbled backwards and stared down at the dismembered components, drawing his first breath since entering the space. A strange cocktail of emotions enveloped him.

A deep sense of triumphant satisfaction was joined by valid relief that this threat to so many was neutralized. But slowly, sorrow began to replace his victorious high and even shame brushed his conscience. Being a hunter was one thing… acting on impassioned rage as judge, jury and executioner was _possibly_ another. 

Would Gavin have wanted to see that side of him? Will Connor still believe him sane when he sees the damage? … _was_ he sane?

Rain began to announce itself with small tapping of heavy drops against the tin roof. 

He sent an image of the scene and a location pin to Connor, took one last look at his broken twin and walked back away from the twisted form, a path of blue footprints trailing him. 

*****

Windshield wipers sloshed as Nines drove home, cataloging his own damage. Like steel bending steel, equally strong components as his own had left quite the impact on his hands, deep grooves and dents in his chassis, and his eye still glitched in pixelated lack of clarity. Nines was unconcerned, it could all be fixed if he cared to do so. 

He declined several connection attempts from Connor, telling him simply that he was fine, he was sorry and he’d talk about it all, give them whatever info they needed, tomorrow. The rain pounded against the darkening evening as he drove along, lost within his own thoughts, nearing the apartment.

Suddenly flung forward into his seatbelt, the tires of his car screeched to an automated safety protocol halt mere inches from striking the vehicle in front of him. Nines’ eyes darted to determine the cause of the abrupt stop. 

The driver in front of him was climbing out of his vehicle waving angrily at someone Nines could barely see standing directly in front of their bumper and he opened his own door, half-emerging to assess the situation. 

Glaring furiously at the driver, stood an android drenched head to toe. The vehicle had struck him, breaking his left leg and leaving him to balance awkwardly against the hood of the older model car. He shouted a string of colorful swear words at the driver as blue blood mixed with the rain dripping down his pant leg. 

In wild contrast to his angry and injured state, he gently but securely clutched an equally wet but unscathed small kitten in his hands, holding it close to himself to shelter it from the elements and, based on what he was shouting to the driver, from the car who’d almost struck the animal.

When the irate android’s green eyes flicked to Nines mid-insult however, the words were robbed from his voice. The furrowed brow and snarl of anger shifted a smooth transition into disbelief upon the face Nines simultaneously longed for, and shuttered to see. After staring in shock for a moment, the G2 looked down to the asphalt as he cradled the kitten closer to his chest. 

The driver turned to face Nines, confused by the sudden change of emotion. He threw his arms up, shouting about “God damned androids.” He yelled again at the G2 to get out of his way, and continued slinging insults at them both while the injured android tried to limp away from the front of his vehicle. 

Nines seriously debated simply driving away. He almost got right back into his own car and left the scene to be someone else’s problem. 

But watching the other android struggle to balance on his broken leg and attempt to move out of the road without dropping the kitten was a pitiful sight, even if they hadn’t been a replica of the human Nines loved. 

When the driver got back into his car and slammed his door, muffling the sounds of his insults, there was a moment it looked like he may just run the android over, and Nines just couldn’t bring himself to walk away. 

Despite his scowl, he hurried to the G2, grabbing his elbow to balance him, intending to help him move onto the sidewalk. The G2 immediately stiffened however, flinching away from his touch as fear crossed his features and within the next instant, the fear was replaced by aggression. He looked prepared to put up as much of a fight as a rain-drenched, one-legged, kitten-cradling android could muster, which, admittedly… might be a solid effort. 

It took Nines only a blink to analyze possible explanations for the unexpected behavior to realize that _if_ this— person— had been programmed with any of Gavin’s experiences, the last time he’d seen who he thought was Nines, that android had shot him. Perfectly fair that the G2 wouldn’t immediately be able to differentiate him from 86, especially given that communication with him was blocked and as a secondary explanation prompt had alerted him to, his own approach and posture just now were _anything_ but friendly. 

Nines deactivated the skin over his serial number to identify himself and offered his hand again, this time without the attitude of someone who might’ve just as easily shoved the G2 under the car as to help him avoid further injury from it. The relief on the other android’s face as he finally allowed himself to be helped out of the road ran far deeper than Nines expected. He looked hopeful and relieved, elated and crushed all at once as the driver slammed the gas pedal and sped away the moment they were clear from his bumper. 

Rain continued to pelt them as they stood in awkward silence for a moment, G2 finally whispering “Thank you.” 

Nines frowned. He’d done his good deed and should just leave. A car honked from behind his, signaling their frustration even as they pulled around him, and he realized he hadn’t even left his flashers on. Eyeing the broken android up and down, he emitted a guttural sigh. This wasn’t his problem. 

Nines told himself this— that none of this was his problem and he should just drive away— repeatedly, as he took the G2’s elbow in his hand again, gently again this time, and said “Come on,” gesturing that he’d lead him to the car. When the android didn’t immediately yield to his grasp, he clarified, “I’ll take you back to Kamski’s place so he can fix you. Come on.” 

It may be hard for a human to look at a perfectly familiar face and not equate them as the same, but it wasn’t like that for an android. Rows and rows of most models existed with perfectly mirrored physical features, like stacks of canned soup on a grocery shelf. So Nines seeing Gavin’s face on an android, it wasn’t as bothersome as it would be to most people. 

Yes, a small part of Nines _wondered_. How similar was this being to its original subject? The face was perfect, but had the same attention been paid to replicate the rest of him, and how much of Kamski’s ridiculous consciousness capture might’ve actually worked? Clearly the G2 had recognized him easily, but how much of that was genuine emotion vs programmed reaction? He pondered all of this as he wordlessly helped the broken android settle into the passenger seat. 

Nines’ frown lingered as they headed toward the mansion he’d hoped never to revisit. As if it knew their silence needed a push to be broken, the kitten squeaked the tiniest “ _mew”_ as the G2 rubbed behind a dirty ear. He looked her over for any injuries as much to avoid the uncomfortable situation as anything else, and was relieved to find her dirty and thin, but otherwise unharmed. 

His eyes soon cautiously wandered to Nines’ hands on the steering wheel and realizing their damaged state, hesitantly he asked, “What happened?”

Nines kept his eyes on the road and his posture stoic. “I killed 86.”

The G2’s jaw slacked open, taken aback by the information. “W…seriously?”

Dryly, “Mmhmm.”

“Are you ok? I mean, other than the obvious?” he asked as he gestured with his chin toward Nines’ hands. The G2 sat forward so he could better look him over, worry evident on his face as he scanned every inch of Nines he could see with intense concern. Nines could practically _feel_ the other android’s burning desire to touch him. To further explore where he could be injured, and maybe even attempt to comfort him? The audacity of the stranger disturbed him. 

“Yes. Perfectly fine,” Nines replied with cold indifference that slipped into a disgust when he warned, “Don’t even think about touching me.”

The G2 stilled, wilting like he’d been physically struck and he withdrew slowly back into the seat, physically and perhaps emotionally as well. He hugged the kitten closer and buried his wet nose in her wet fur. Nines refused to believe he saw tears brimming in the android’s eyes as they drove the rest of the way in complete silence. 

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have thoughts or feedback, good or bad, please share it in a comment!


	19. Chapter 19

Elijah emerged from the house, barefoot and wrapped in a bathrobe as soon as they pulled up. Nines hurriedly stepped out of the vehicle into the rain and Gavin could see a surprised Eli say something to him, but couldn’t make out what it was from inside the car. 

Gavin hugged the kitten closely against himself, whispering reassurances to her as Nines made his way to the passenger side. “Don’t worry sweetie, we’ll get you clean and dry, get you some great kitten food, you’ll be alright. I’ll keep you safe.” He stroked her head, still matted with the rain water, as was his hair, clothes, everything. Good thing androids were waterproof and he’d stopped carrying his phone weeks ago (though admittedly, the habit of having his cell phone on him all the time was a particularly difficult one to break.)

Nines opened the passenger door and shouted up toward Elijah, “Your android needs repairs,” as he reached in to help Gavin climb out of the vehicle.

Gavin couldn’t see Eli’s face while he was carefully maneuvering himself, kitten in hand, but the confusion was clear in his brother’s voice and his nonsensical words. “What do you- oh- how- ….” he trailed off as Gavin stood upright, balanced between the roof of the car and Nines’ hand on the back of his arm. Elijah finally put together a whole question, “What happened?”

“He was struck by a vehicle and I happened upon the scene purely by incident,” Nines explained flatly as he assisted Gavin’s limping struggle toward the house, becoming increasingly annoyed by the snail’s pace. “You need to recalibrate him as well, I believe. There’s no reason he should be having this much difficulty balancing.” 

There _was_ a reason, but not one Nines could understand. A normal android could have moved unassisted easily enough with the nature of the break. Nines could’ve run on it, probably. But normal androids had never felt pain before, and couldn’t understand how it felt to see a part of themselves damaged and displaced and _know, surely_ that jostling it wrong, being careless or going too quickly would bring more damage and a tidal wave of pain. Gavin’s mind was convinced that surely, any moment now, his nervous system would wake the fuck up and drop the pain bomb on his head. 

Elijah met them halfway, helping further support Gavin from the other side. “Oh. And there’s a cat,” Nines added impartially.

As soon as Gavin was successfully to the door, Chloe stepped outside as well and Nines released the supportive grip from his arm, causing a small sway and a sharply sucked breath as Gavin was forced to put more weight than planned on the broken leg. He continued to expected pain, and when none continued to come, it was the eeriest feeling.

Looking him over, Elijah didn’t seem sure of where to place his reaction, but as Nines turned to leave, he reached out to stop him. “You’re damaged as well, would you like help?”

“No. Thank you, but no.” 

Nines walked straight to his car, leaving the other three standing in front of the door. “Come on,” Chloe invited, replacing Nines’ assistance and leading Gavin carefully inside. 

As soon as they were past the threshold, Elijah frowned and looked nervously at the kitten for a moment. “Gavin, umm, I know we can’t just leave it out in the rain, but I’m very allergic to cats.”

Gavin flickered a look toward his brother, unintentionally a bit more challenging than he'd intended. “No, you’re not.”

Shifting his weight, Elijah hadn’t missed the brief death glare, “You might not remember, but..”

“Your mom lied so you’d stop asking for a pet. She told you you were allergic to everything because she knew dad would just take whatever you brought home to the shelter and it’d break your heart.” 

Dumbstruck, Eli retorted, “I-what? How do you know that?”

“She told my mom once and I overheard it.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

Gavin frowned, petting the kitten protectively, still cradled to his chest. “You didn’t need another reason to hate dad, and I didn’t want you to be mad at your mom.” 

They all fell quiet for a moment as Gavin continued petting the tiny creature, torn as to what to do. His brother had been beyond generous and accommodating. This was his home and he had every right to decline an unwanted animal in it. 

But Gavin would sooner live on the streets with the kitten than abandon it. 

Chloe’s hands were clasped in front of her mouth, trying to hide her knowing smile as Gavin lifted the kitten up in front of Eli’s face and gave his very best endearing puppy dog eyes. His brother’s indecisiveness lasted no more than a half-second past the creature’s first tiny “mew?” before he frowned a very specific ‘ _I’m only irritated because I’ve been defeated by a one pound creature_ ’ look. 

He took the baby cat from Gavin, bringing her into his own arms with a guttural, resigned sigh. 

Once Gavin was stripped down to a dry pair of boxers and the kitten had been bathed and rolled loosely with a dry towel, into what Gavin called a purrito, Gavin and the kitten sat side-by-side on the metal table in the computer lab. Chloe had gone to the store to buy cat food, litter and some other kitten basics. 

Elijah pulled up his computer chair and began to inspect Gavin’s broken leg. “So, what happened, exactly? You left for a walk hours ago, if you needed help why didn’t you call me?”

“I didn’t need help until Nines was already there, really. I just wanted to walk, like, just get out for a while, you know?” He pet the kitten absentmindedly while he answered his brother. “It started to rain, and then it started to pour and I dunno, it didn’t really bother me. But then I saw this little thing,” he motioned toward the kitten while scratching under her chin, “and the rain started coming down real heavy and flooding where she was trying to hide from it. She got scared and ran into the road. I tried waving to this jackass driver to slow down and he just flipped me off so I had to jump out in front of his car to get him to stop before he hit her.”

“Well… I have a feeling you’d have done the same thing even if you were still human. So the good thing is, this is a pretty easy fix at least.” He shuffled around for some components to replace the broken chassis sections. “How did Nines end up in the mix?”

“While I’m in the middle of telling this douchebag off for being a shitty driver, I look up and of all the shit timing, Eli, there’s my... ~~boyfriend, ex, lover~~ , uh.. ~~best thing to ever happen to me~~ … Nines. Just happened to pull up behind the guy.” The kitten makes a playful swipe at his hand, bringing the first smile of the day to Gavin’s face. It left quickly. “I think I hurt his feelings.”

Still poking around to determine the extent of any damage to the wiring in the leg, “Nines’? Why?”

“He looked really mad when he walked up to me, and, for a minute I wasn’t sure if it was Nines or 86.”

“Oh, I’m sure he could understand that,” and after considering it himself for a beat, Elijah asked, “Are you sure it _was_ Nines? I mean, they’re literally indistinguishable visually.”

“Yeah, he looked offended, but he exposed his serial number. And, um, he said he killed 86. That’s why he was so banged up himself.”

That was enough to take Elijah’s attention off the leg completely, looking up to his brother, “Wait, really? _Killed_ him?”

Gavin shrugged. “That’s what he said.”

“That’s a huge deal! How? And how did he find him? Has he told the FBI?”

“I don’t know any of those things. I asked how he got hurt and he said he killed 86.” Gavin omitted the part where Nines practically threatened him to keep his hands to himself. 

“And you… are you ok?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” 

“You just saw someone you love and miss terribly for the first time in months, as an android, after dying at the hands of his evil twin, who he just killed, and you can’t talk to him about any of it I’m guessing? That’s… a lot.” 

“I’m fine.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“I...” Gavin huffed a sigh out his nose and lowered his gaze. How did he tell Eli that he was right, too right? The only person on earth he _wanted_ to talk about any of it with was the guy who didn’t want to talk to him. “I’ll _be_ fine.” 

It was a decisive answer, and Elijah knew better than to keep prodding. He frowned and returned his attention to the damaged leg, but changed the subject. “So… I take it the kitten is staying?” She’d begun exploring the table and sniffing at both men, cautiously curious about her surroundings. Now that the grunge had been washed from her tiny body and her fur was drying, her smoky tabby stripes and two white feet were more clear.

At that, a slow smile warmed Gavin’s entire face. “Can she?” he asked carefully, not wanting to impose. “I’ll take her with me as soon as I find an apartment and such of course.”

Eli looked over at the baby cat and found her focused by a small pair of pliers he’d set on the table. “Yup. She can stay. No hurry for you to leave either, you know that.” 

Smiling from ear to ear, he beamed, “Thank you, Eli!”

*****

Gavin’s pen tapped anxiously against his desk the following day as he tried hard to ignore it. His leg was repaired and weird as it all was, he had to admit, getting broken by a car and right back onto both feet within a few hours was pretty damn cool. His current source of stress was all he could think about though— He’d seen Nines disappear into one of the DPD’s meeting rooms along with Connor and several Federal Investigators. For hours now, they were all in the small room, no doubt addressing what Nines had told him in the car yesterday. 

He heard through the grapevine that they were bringing 86’s body to the station for analysis too, and he couldn’t shake the deeply uneasy feeling that wove through him. The sensation of his hair standing at the back of his neck, was that something that could even happen to an android? 

Gavin became lost in thought about what could be transpiring in the room with his ... _fuck..what_ was _Nines now, exactl_ y? His ex? He really needed to decide for his own sanity. The struggle caused him to lose his train of thought as a whole new realm of discomfort settled in him. He chewed the end of the pen, chin perched on his palm while staring intensely at the door to the room. 

Startling when Connor emerged to retrieve coffee for the human agents, he dropped the pen and ruffled some pages on his desk. Connor offered a sympathetic smile but Gavin couldn’t bring himself to return one, so he just acted like nothing had happened. 

Yup, totally unbothered by anything going on here. 

When a different small group of people appeared through a rear entrance a short time later and headed toward the evidence room with a misshapen body bag, Gavin stiffened. He didn’t even know it, but he _knew_ it: That was him. The android who’d confused and hurt him for days. The complete stranger he’d slept with (if you could call it that). The man who’d ended his human life. 

How much of that stuff did Nines even know about? Did Mr. “Don’t touch me” have any idea what Gavin had gone through thinking it was him the whole time?

He realized in the next breath what a dick he was being… He had no idea what Nines had been through either. Maybe 86 had done even worse things to Nines for all he knew. He swallowed hard, and his stress level jumped to a 73, skipping several numbers as it climbed. 

It was all just too much. He slapped a couple of folders shut, threw them in a drawer and hurried out of the bullpen. He rushed past Fowler, who was just returning from a lunch break and he felt the captain's eyes following him, but he was blessedly uninterrupted all the way to his Jeep. He needed space. Open air and different scenery. 

20 minutes later, he found himself on a park bench, eyes closed with the late afternoon sun on his face and birds chirping their happy (or angry, horny or whatever) songs in the trees above him. Elijah had warned him about the hazards of smoking but he didn’t care right now. He’d retrieved a cigarette from the aging stash in his Jeep and when he brought the familiar cylinder between his lips and lit it, he relished the inhale and shushed the “Poor Air Quality” warning away with a shooing gesture of his hand. 

Exhaling the narrow column of smoke into the air, he leaned his head back and watched the leaves sway in the breeze. A message appeared from Connor: “Is everything ok?” Gavin replied with a short video clip of him taking another hit of the cigarette, cherry burning brightly. “Far from a healthy habit for a human or an android,” came the reply. Gavin sent another video, this time of him flipping Connor off.

A moment passed and guilt nudged Gavin in the shoulder. He knew the 800 was just trying to help. “I’m ok, Connor. Just got a bit overwhelmed with everything and needed to get some fresh air.”

He snickered when Connor replied “Maybe try some air that didn’t go through the seven thousand chemicals of a cigarette,” followed several seconds later with “Nines told me he saw you yesterday. I’m sure all of this is very difficult for you, please don’t hesitate to ask for help if you need it.”

Help...

How would anyone even know how or where to start helping him?

Leaning forward on the park bench, he flicked the cigarette out, it didn’t taste right anyway… Probably because he had no sense of smell and hardly any sense of taste. God he missed food. And coffee. And the smell of both of those things. 

It had taken forever, but he was finally adjusted to the notion that he didn’t _need_ food, air, water, etc. but this whole lack of pain thing was new and eerie. When the car tires screeched mere inches from him yesterday, he’d held his breath and grit his teeth and when his leg crumpled with a telling crunch, he’d braced for it— for the searing pain of such an injury to erupt like a firestorm through him. When it never came... it still, even now, seemed like one of those things your brain whispers to you with, “ _Psst, that’s not supposed to happen. You should probably see a doctor._ ”

What were the chances that Nines of all people would show up just then. Right when he was scared and confused and weak as fuck. His boyfriend, ex, whatever... shreds his enemy limb from limb with his bare hands and here’s Gavin, looking like a useless and broken drowned rat. What a great first impression to this new version of him. 

He pinched the bridge of his nose, rubbing at the scar and letting his head fall to rest in his hand. 

More time passed by than he realized, and with some traffic to blame too, it was nearly two hours later before he made it back to the DPD. Nines and the feds had wrapped up and left apparently, and Connor and Hank were out somewhere too, so Gavin sat down at his desk expecting to be undisturbed. 

Except— he knew the body of the guy who’d killed him was in evidence, right down the hall, and something that could be blamed on morbid curiosity combined with a desire for closure swirled into a nagging urge to go see it. His foot tapped as he fought it for a while. He wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near the case. Nines, Connor and Hank had all told him that 86 was dead. 

But some deep need in Gavin begged for confirmation. He needed to know that the man couldn’t fool or hurt him again… Needed to know that if he saw Nines again, he could _know_ it was Nines. 

He read the first sentence of some document, glanced at the entrance leading to evidence, read the same sentence again, and glanced back to the doorway. When he read the first sentence for the third time and still didn’t know what it said, he groaned and slapped the folder shut. 

“Fine. Let’s go see the dead android,” he grumbled at himself. 

Connor hadn’t been exaggerating. 86 was torn to pieces. And…. it was much harder to look at than he had anticipated. Gavin’s brows were furrowed and he couldn’t look past the face—Nines’ face— torn in half, deep gouges, tongue lolling exposed without a lower jaw to house it. Gavin tapped the grey, lifeless LED and felt a phantom lump forming in his throat.

Tilting his head, he studied up and down the body on the table. The fury and the sheer power it must’ve taken for Nines to cause the extent of the damage… He’d never seen his lover that angry and he _hated_ that it kept making him think of how incredibly weak he’d felt when 86 threw him against his bedroom wall. If 86 had manhandled him like a rag doll, and Nines had torn 86 apart… it was unsettling to have a visual example of what Nines was truly capable of. 

Gavin was lost in these thoughts and didn’t hear the footsteps approaching down the hall. When Connor’s voice questioned, “Gavin?” from behind him, he spun to realize the 800 and Nines were mere feet behind him and almost jumped onto the evidence table alongside 86. 

“Jesus, Connor!” he exclaimed, clutching his chest and trying to pant breaths through what felt like a glitch that surged throughout his entire system. 

“I apologize, Detective Reed, I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

At the mention of the name Nines seemed to stiffen impossibly further by Connor’s side. His eyes narrowed with frustration and he said flatly, “I’ll wait outside,” turning to leave immediately. 

Before getting a half step away, Connor grabbed Nines’ arm however and holding his other palm up in hopes of keeping his brother calm, said “Wait, just wait. We need to have an adult conversation about this. If you’re to come back to the DPD Nines, you two can’t just ignore each other.”

“It’s fine, Connor,” Gavin interjected, seeing the stress practically oozing off of the 900. A couple of the FBI agents entered the room as well just then, suspiciously eyeing Gavin but minding their own business. “It’s fine,” he repeated, “I’ll go.”

“No, all 3 of us are going.” Connor maintained the hold on Nines’ arm and called over his shoulder toward the agents, “Get started without us, we’ll be back soon,” while shoving Nines toward the door.

As soon as they were clear of the room, Nines yanked his arm free from Connor but continued beside him as Gavin trailed behind. “I’m not in the mood for this now,” Nines snapped at his brother as all three stepped outside into the relative privacy of a courtyard break area. 

Connor was calm, but his words had an unavoidable sting of truth. “You’ll never be ‘in the mood for this’ as long as you keep running from it, Nines.” 

The same calmness could not be said of his brother. “I don’t need your damn therapy, Connor.”

Gavin sank into the background, hopping up to sit on the brick ledge of a landscaping wall as Connor pressured Nines to communicate. “You're determined to be blinded by your own stubbornness, Nines. If you’d just talk to the man, it just might open your damn eyes.”

“Talk to who? _Him_?” he gestured angrily toward Gavin. 

“Yes, _him_ , who else? What, are you going to wear blinders when you come back to work so you can’t see him?” 

Nines rolled his eyes. “Is it so surprising that I don’t want a stunt double in my face reminding me of someone I loved?”

Something akin to a dagger twisting in Gavin’s gut caused him to shift where he sat in silence as Connor persisted, “You can’t keep pretending he doesn’t exist, Nines.”

“I’m not pretending he doesn’t exist, I’m just not pretending he’s someone he isn’t. 

Connor inhaled deeply, ever a calm testament to his programming and personality, but defending Gavin with more surety than Nines expected. “Do you think I’m so different from 51 or 52? This body never experienced the events but I still hold their memories. Does that make me invalid?”

With a loud “Ugghhh” of complete disgust, Nines threw his hands into the air. “Straight from the lips of Kamski…. you sure he didn’t program that line? It’s not the same, Connor, and you know it. Your thoughts, decisions and experiences in your previous bodies were still _yours_ , not someone else’s that you just studied up on. Reading a book doesn’t make you its author.”

“Agreed, but does re-printing the same words onto new pages change the story? Nines you’re being unreasonable. What are _any_ of us but the collection of thoughts, memories, and experiences in our heads? Is the vessel of the body carrying those things really all that important?”

“ ** _HE_** ” Nines flung a pointed finger sharply in Gavin’s direction, “didn’t _experience_ ANYTHING, Connor! So maybe he knows things that happened to Gavin, how on earth is that the same as _being_ Gavin?” 

“Nines if you had been there, if you would just watch the message Gavin wanted you to see, this is what he wanted!”

“Then he was a bigger fool than I realized!” Nines shouted back, ashamed by his own words as they slid off of his tongue, but too proud to bite them off. “ _Wanting_ something to happen doesn’t mean that’s what happened.”

“And what, Nines, you’re too scared to even consider the option that it did? That Elijah’s plan worked? It’s easier to just convince yourself that he’s gone than to risk leaving your heart open to the possibility that he’s _right there_ ,” he pointed delicately toward Gavin, “Even if it means you could be _choosing_ to lose him needlessly?”

Nines and Connor locked eyes for several moments. Nines’ sizzled with a fury that might’ve become a flame if not for the wetness threatening to become tears, and they fought to bore holes into the collected but unyielding disappointment behind Connor’s gaze. 

Gavin finally interrupted their little standoff as he hopped down from the brick ledge. “Well this has been fun and all, but I’m gonna go.” Turning toward Nines, he apologized softly, “I’m sorry that you hate me. I didn’t do this to make your life harder.” 

Nines had never seen an android so perfectly mimic a kicked puppy before. And yet, there was a proud dignity in the new android’s frame; sorrow for Nines’ reaction, but the absence of regret as Gavin fumbled for a cigarette and headed to his Jeep. 

*****

Much later the same evening, a knock at the apartment door came unexpectedly. And when Nines opened it to find the G2 standing there, he very nearly slammed it shut again. He wasn’t given the opportunity though, the man walked in, well, like he owned the place. “Come here,” he said, grabbing Nines by the forearm and leading him to the couch, leaving no room for argument. 

The G2 sat down on the sofa facing him without any formality, just like he belonged there. “I wanted to show you something,” he said. “I know it won't really change anything but, I thought, I don’t know… I just wanted you to see.” And without any warning, he pulled his T-shirt off in one fluid motion. 

Nines was taken aback by the forwardness of the android and began to object, but his thoughts stalled completely at the sight of the tattoo that sat boldly on the G2’s chest. His eyes locked there, somehow both equally troubled and relieved by its familiarity. He reached out, and with the feather light touch someone reserves for stroking an infant's cheek, his fingers barely traced the lines of it. 

“I… I guess I shouldn’t be surprised to see this. I’m sure Gavin…” he bit his lip firmly to halt the sentence when his voice wavered. ”I’m sure Gavin would’ve wanted it to be transferred, but…” He sighed and shook his head. “I don’t know what to make of it, if I’m being honest.”

As his eyes slowly wandered over the brand new android’s bare chest, Nines’ figurative heart ached— guess this answered the question he’d wondered in the car the previous day.

Painstaking care had been taken to ensure every freckle and blemish, each scar and perfect imperfection had been accounted for and placed accordingly. A flicker of deeper sadness touched his brows when he realized the newest scar Gavin’s body had received, the one from the Dixon arrest, had also been added. 

It brought up a replay of the only time Nines had seen the mark, not through his own eyes but from the memory banks of 86. The memory of Gavin’s small remark that he was hurt, an unspoken request not to hurt him further. Something Nines would have stopped time to address, that had instead fallen on indifferent ears. The small droplets of blood that fell to the sheets as the imposter had fooled and abused the human Nines loved. He closed his eyes and tried to lock out the guilt-soaked images. 

Code twisted and fought with itself as his mind attempted to attack the person who stood in his own shoes— the memory’s owner— raising a gun to his lover and a horrible thought flung his eyes back open. Nines frantically searched the G2’s chest for scars of the bullet holes that had claimed Gavin’s life. His processors calmed when he saw the marks that would’ve been there— the signs of where the indifferent metal had torn his human’s flesh— had been omitted on the man’s replica. 

No, other than the Dixon scar, even his own advanced scanning systems confirmed the picture of Gavin that Kamski had created was indeed perfect. 

But it was a picture, nothing more.

Despite Nines’ brief panic and decidedly condescending gaze, the other android smiled with a patient understanding when Nines’ eyes finally met his. “Yeah, I told him what I wanted to keep. I wanted to look down and still see the ‘me’ I knew. But I know how hard this must be on you. And it’s ok, I understand babe.” He winced as the last word rolled so easily from his tongue even after all this time... knowing it wasn’t appropriate or welcome. “Sorry,” he whispered. 

An awkward moment passed and he added with a chuckle, “Besides, I can’t say shit. It’s not like it didn’t take me a while to get used to being with an android too.” His smile was sheepish and hopeful and … _ugh_ , it was so very _Gavin_ that Nines blinked away a command to reboot his systems when the instability lurched upward without warning. 

Gavin stared intently into Nines’ eyes and Nines hadn’t even realized his palm had come to rest flatly on the synthetic chest in front of him. Glancing back at his hand, he jerked it away like the touch burned him and his eyes clouded with the threat of tears. 

The G2 looked down to the floor as he chewed along his lower lip, wishing he could take back what must have clearly been the wrong words. 

“An android isn’t the issue.” The 900 spoke quietly as he dragged his tongue along his teeth and leaned away. “An android impersonating a human he’s never even met, on the other hand…” he let the words trail off. 

Nodding a few times in acceptance, G2 plopped both of his hands onto his knees and sighed. “Look, I just… I wanted to show you. I had to try. But I get it, I do. And I’m sorry I... _he_ …died.. and that… that _I’m_ not what you want. But you know what? I sure as shit didn’t want to die either. And when this was the only option left, I didn’t take it to make you happy or get you back. It’s not like I even knew that would be possible anyway. I did this for me and I don’t regret it. And if you can’t accept it... if you won’t even give me a _chance_ , that’s fine. Fuck it. I’m not gonna sit here and beg you.” 

The younger android stood abruptly and grabbed his leather jacket. It wasn’t the same one, Nines realized with a sting of pain as he assumed the reasons the original had been replaced. A fitting and bitter match for the rest of the person now walking away from him. 

As G2 yanked the door shut behind him, Nines remained seated on the couch. He stared at the closed door and involuntarily, a memory construction ran of one of the many times Gavin had come in through the doorway, arms full of groceries and a smile on his face when he saw Nines right where he presently sat on the couch. 

Nines brought his hands to his face and tears began to seep through his fingers. 

  
  
  
  
  
  



	20. Chapter 20

The plastic ring from the base of a soda cap slid quickly across the kitchen floor. A flurry of tiny paws and fur that looked like it was woven from the fibers of a cloud in this just-right morning light scampered along behind the plastic, swiping at it like a microcosm of a lion chasing a very round, uncoordinated gazelle. 

“She’s very tenacious,” Chloe laughed as she and Gavin watched the kitten battle her worthy opponent. “What are you going to name her?”

“Umm, I don’t know. She clawed the piss out of my foot in bed last night, definitely has an attitude. Maybe I should name her North.” 

Chloe chastised him but laughed heartily, dropping a tiny piece of leftover scrambled egg to the floor and giggling again as the kitten stalked the intruding morsel before cautiously sniffing and then swallowing it in one gulp, searching immediately for more. 

Scooping the kitten up and planting a kiss to the top of her head, Gavin scratched the fur under her chin and said “Ok, girl, be good for Chloe ok? I’ve gotta go to work.” She squirmed in his arms, more interested in eggs than kisses so he let her back down and pecked a chaste kiss to Chloe's cheek instead, with a, “Thanks for watching her.”

He arrived at his desk and actually managed to get some work done this time too, at least until he did a double take just a couple of hours later when Elijah walked into the DPD with his laptop case. Gavin texted his brother‘s phone instead of approaching him, not wanting to draw attention, “Hey, everything ok?”

A few minutes later Eli texted back, “FBI asked me to help them access some of 86’s encrypted memory banks. Still trying to recover the last of their stolen androids. Shouldn’t take long.” He nodded to Gavin as he walked by, escorted by a couple agents and disappearing into the evidence room. 

It was Connor who approached Gavin hour or so later, as Hank used the opportunity to sneak into the break room for a donut. “We’ve isolated a location where we believe the remaining Military androids are being stored, would you like to join us when we go there shortly?”

“I thought I wasn’t supposed to be near the case?”

“Now that 86 is dead, there should no longer be any particular risk to you.”

“Will Nines be there too?” He wasn’t sure what he wanted the answer to be.

“Yes, but..” Connor frowned. “You have to learn to work around each other on cases again, even if you’re not to be partners, er, _uh_ , work partners, I mean.” The very distinct and human ‘ _oh shit, shouldn’t have said that’_ expression accompanied Connor’s back pedaling, and he hurried to add, “Plus, the more processors the better if we have a bunch of androids that need program overwrites. It could be a good learning opportunity for you, in terms of coding and handling of particularly machine-like non-deviated androids.” 

The last part was true, Gavin had to admit. Not without reservation, he accepted the invite. “Yeah. Let me wrap this up, I’ll ride with Eli.” 

This time, the location was a large, empty former grocery store in an abandoned strip mall. 86 must have moved the androids here more carefully, in several large truckloads they believed. It was run down and sloppily vacated, all of the shelving and displays gone or dragged to the side. But the structure was well located for access to the CyberLife tower and not as far beyond public eyes as the previous storage locations had been. 

Dust and disrepair was heavy throughout most of the space, but an office had been cleaned out and seemed to have served as 86’s personal room. The whole building was still reasonably functional, despite the water damage and the cracked up linoleum. 

Several hundred androids stood in their perfect rows, powered up and ready but motionless without instruction from their leader. 86 had thoroughly hijacked their processors, he owned their actions completely. 

Everyone else had been to this similar scene multiple times, cleaning up as they’d chased the trail of 86. But Gavin had only been once, and the confrontation there had literally killed him. Seeing rows of mindless androids again was nightmarish deja-vu, snapping him immediately back to being between the iron sights of Connor’s gun in the hands of the man he’d thought was Nines. He willed his CPU to focus on the differences, confirm that this wasn’t somewhere he’d been before and replay the latest images of 86– torn apart and dead. He forced his stress level under control with facts. 

Nines was already there, hard at work scanning and cataloging everything, interfacing to extract new code from original. He raised an eyebrow when Gavin and Elijah walked in, but otherwise ignored them as Connor approached him to get caught up on what he’d already discovered. 

Nines transferred the information to Connor in a blink and Connor held Eli’s tablet in hand, forwarding the relevant details to it. Federal agents milled about as well, a buzz of nervous energy throughout the place even though 86 was neutralized from activating any of the machines. The possibility of a booby trap or some similar sort of danger persisted, so everyone was still on high alert as they moved through, gathering evidence and temporarily powering down the androids. 

“So… what do I do?” Gavin asked Connor as he and Nines completed their exchange, Eli heading toward them as well to retrieve his tablet. 

Distracted, Connor offered the still white chassis of his hand to transfer the information over an interface but Gavin pulled away, shaking his head. “Right, sorry,” Connor apologized as he handed him the tablet instead.

Unfortunately, Nines noticed the situation and raised a judgemental eyebrow, huffing a jab at Elijah. “Your android won’t interface?” 

“Weird, right?” Eli wasted no time returning the snark. “You’d almost think he wasn’t just like _any other_ android.” He vaguely gestured to the _hundreds_ of them standing in rows close by. 

Connor leveled a glare at Nines that alone would have chilled human blood, but he pressed his point even further, each of their LED’s dipping to yellow with a message sent, simply, “ _Don't_.”, and Nines turned from the rest of them to get right back to work. 

Everyone fell into their tasks, chipping away at coding and cataloging and although ‘working together’ wasn’t exactly the case, they worked into an agreeable enough rhythm and by the time a need for a break rolled around, they’d put a significant dent in the workload as a unit. 

The group converged and as Connor handed out some cooled Thiruim packets to Gavin, Nines and himself, he began questioning Elijah subjectively about some base coding differences among androids in general. Curiosity and the opportunity to hear things from the creator himself eventually got the better of Nines who, despite a rigid posture and some clear discomfort, joined in the conversation as well. It shifted back and forth between things relevant to the current situation with the military androids, and some of the decision making behind the less obvious differences between RK’s, PL’s, Tracy’s, etc. 

Somewhere on the other side of the building, one of the federal agents must’ve dropped something. A loud and sudden BANG resounded through the space, followed by a “Shit, sorry!” from whoever had caused the noise. 

The sound took them all by surprise but where Eli startled a bit, and the other two androids simply looked in the direction of the sound, Gavin practically jumped out of his skin. He jolted, barely catching himself from falling and his hand subconsciously grabbed the front of his chest. 

He quickly laughed at his exaggerated reaction, a blue tinge of a blush sweeping his face with embarrassment. Of course that shit just had to happen in front of everyone. Eli’s expression was draped with concern as he asked “Are you ok?”

“Yeah,” Gavin laughed, “I’m fine, just caught me off guard.” More nervous laughter.

“You sure?” Connor pressed.

“Yeah, yeah, perfectly fine,” Gavin replied while collecting himself and getting situated against the wall again. He cleared his throat out of habit, but his voice was confident and convincing, even to Connor and Eli and they returned to the previous subject. Nines’ eyes narrowed slightly, but he said nothing before turning his head away from Gavin as well. 

The conversation continued and Gavin remained calm, collected. He talked and laughed a bit as they compared some notes and he allowed several minutes to pass where no one asked him if he was ok. Eli went to grab another bottle of water and the opportunity seemed appropriate, so Gavin took it and excused himself with a nonchalant “Be right back.” It didn’t seem to raise any suspicion and he made his way to one of the vacant offices near the front of the building. 

The moment the door clicked shut behind him however, he collapsed to his knees, bracing the fall with his hands to cushion any sound. He dry heaved, nails gripping against the dense fibers of the dry-rotted carpet with his left hand as he bit down on his right to muffle the sound as sobs tried to escape him. 

People weren’t meant to remember trauma so vividly. Shock, and the haziness it facilitated in the human brain was a gift, and the clarity of memories faded with time. But haziness has no place in the digital world, and all of the moments had been reconstructed with crisp perfection. 

Gavin _felt_ the bullets again and again and he couldn’t make the replay stop. He felt the fall, the cold of the concrete and the hollow thud his head made against it, a sound that registered somehow despite the ringing in his ears from the gunshots. The warmth of the blood running down his chest and the thick wetness on his fingers as his human body tried to grasp what was happening to it. 

They say amputees experience phantom pains in their missing limbs. And as Gavin’s mind burned with the phantom pains of an entire missing body, it went through the motions it could only comprehend from the history and perspective of a human. 

His mind was convinced that his body needed to vomit and he knew he should be in a cold sweat, his limbs like jello. But none of those things happened to androids, and he choked back sobs as tears rolled down the back of his hand. The clear fluid mixed with narrow ribbons of Thirium the damage his bite pressure was causing, and the sight of the watery blue running down his wrist just made him cry harder. 

Releasing his hand, he crawled further into the room and sat on the floor with his back to the cheap, dusty desk. Laughter exchanged softly in the distance and Eli’s voice rose above Connor’s to highlight something. Gavin wrapped his arms across his face and cried through gritted teeth, trying desperately to be quiet enough not to draw attention to himself. His fingers wove with a pressure that should have been painful into his own hair as he pressed his arms firmly against his face, willing himself to calm down, pleading with the memories to release him. 

He rocked himself in this position, back and forth, sucking sharp breaths between letting his back fall softly against the desk.

When a hand grazed his shoulder, his muffled cry became a yelp of surprise and he jerked violently from the touch. He ended up half sprawled on his butt several feet from the desk and whipped his head up to see Nines on one knee, jaw clenched and LED a solid red. 

Gavin tried to hide his face in his forearm again, choking out a broken “S- Sorry,” as he scrambled to his feet and rushed to the bathroom, just a couple doors down. This time he locked the door behind himself. 

No more than a minute later, there was a knock at the bathroom door and Eli spoke quietly, “Gavin? Can I come in?”

“No, I’m fine, just gimme a minute.”

“You’re not fine, and no one expects you to be fine.”

Gavin let a moment pass, clenching his teeth and forcing himself under control. Still, his voice was little more than a shaky whisper when he asked his brother, “Can we just go, please?”

“Of course. Come on out, let’s go home.”

Nines and Connor both retreated farther into the open space and acted like that’s where they’d wanted to talk all along. They let Gavin pass hurriedly toward where everyone was parked behind the building, still attempting to cover his face. Eli followed shortly behind, giving them both a frown and apologetic glance. 

Nines’ LED was still red and he had the sense to keep his mouth shut, but if Elijah wasn’t mistaken, something different from the earlier ridicule brewed behind the android’s gaze as it followed Gavin’s exit. 

*****

“I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to come see you, Gavin.” Nines looked as ashamed as he felt, coming here now with his tail between his legs after all these weeks of avoiding him. “I’ve brought you something though...” Nines spoke while digging into his jacket pocket. “A morbid gift perhaps, but the only thing that seemed appropriate to offer.” He withdrew a pump regulator, still mostly full of Thirium that glistened in the daylight like a suncatcher, small refractions of blue dancing around the space. 

“This was his. 86’s. I’ve killed him, and bringing you a component of his heart seemed the only way to even begin an apology… not that I expect to be forgiven. I don’t deserve forgiveness.” 

Nines sat the regulator down on the grass and ran his hand along the grooves of the granite that rose above it. It was cool against his synthetic skin. Strong and sturdy, the decorative engravings were simple. He sat cross-legged, 6 feet above the body of the human he missed more than he could possibly express, staring at letters and dates etched deeply into the dark stone. 

The name boldly proclaimed across the granite though, it was foreign to him, in part at least. 

How could the person he was ready to propose to, wanted to share the rest of his life with, have kept such a secret from him? A connection to a name so intrinsic to his very being. Surely Gavin would have known he could trust him to keep this secret that he took with him to his grave, unconventional method notwithstanding. 

So many questions Nines wanted to ask. So many things he wanted to say and needed to hear. Being locked away all that time, imprisoned in every way from hope… Without question, the very worst of it was his worry and isolation from Gavin. When 86 had shown him how he’d manipulated the human, how he’d treated him… Nines had never known fear like that. Anguish like that. He’d pleaded with any deity who would listen that Gavin would _run._ That the human would be smart enough to know the danger was real and _stay away._

But he knew even as the hopes formed that they were in vain. He knew his human’s stubborn nature would persist. He _knew_ his boyfriend would never give up on him. Gavin loved him too much to run away if there was the slightest chance Nines needed him. 

And loving Nines, it cost Gavin his life.

All of the upgrades and greatest technology in the world, being the strongest and the fastest, best and most resilient and all that other shit… it still hadn't made him good enough to protect the one person who mattered most to him. 

Deviancy sure came in this pretty package— promises of freedom and feelings, happiness and love. How about when you feel useless and reprehensible? Where was that part of the brochure? Oh, Nines thought he felt things pretty quickly after deviating, when he finally had emotions to match the dictionary definitions of peoples’ interesting behaviors. But no collection of words in the world could have described the emotion he felt when Connor finally reinstated his network access. When the flood of texts came through from Gavin’s phone, increasingly confused, angry and scared. And worse, when he realized they were still hopeful.. pleading... and it became clear just how much Gavin was willing to go through without giving up on Nines. 

And after, when he knew the truth, when he’d accepted death, and texted Nines a goodbye. 

Little fractions of all those texts... sentences and sentiments, they appeared frequently to remind him of the man he’d lost. They were the ghost of Gavin that haunted him. And seeing his face and his mannerisms on the chassis of an android now too, it was too much. 

86 had shared Nines’ face, body and programming, but couldn’t be further from the person Nines was. And they’d programmed a Gavin replica, and just expected him to believe it was the same man? Humans weren’t digital, and a replication could never be _his_ Gavin.

But… Nines lay on his side atop the grassy cover of Gavin’s grave as his hand stroked through the cool, short blades of green and he watched the video of the G2 from the other day at the crime scene for the ten thousandth time. 

There was no mechanical glitch to that bot’s reaction. That wasn’t an overtaxed operating system or a damaged mechanical unit. That was visceral, deep, _human_ trauma. And seeing the evidence of it on an android’s face twisted threads of doubt within Nines. They tightened with each review of the footage. 

“... _If you won’t even give me a chance,”_ the android had said to him on the couch the other day. All the arguments and logic Kamski and Connor had thrown at him, some of them were valid but none of them reverberated like those few words. They were truth, he hadn’t even tried, and that truth stung, no matter how much he resented the messenger.

Addressing the spirit of the headstone again, Nines spoke quietly, “Not only have I waited far too long to come visit here, I’m deeply ashamed to say I’ve also failed to watch your video.” He held a single blade of grass gingerly between his fingers, rubbing his thumb along it. “I think at first I just didn’t want to accept that you were gone. And now… well now I’m not even sure what’s worse. The finality of accepting your death, or the possibility that I’ve missed something you needed from me. I’ve failed you on every front, Gavin.”

Shoving his palm into each of his eyes, he smeared the tears threatening there. He couldn’t keep pushing this off. He didn’t have the hard drive stick Kamski had given him, but he had the video feed of the message from Connor. 

He brought up the file and pressed play.

5.37 seconds later he closed the file and it hovered just at the edge of being deleted. 

The man in that video couldn’t be Gavin. He thought the images he’d already seen from Connor had been bad, but they didn’t hold a candle to watching the human in the video. It played tricks on his processors that he’d seen the G2 so recently, a visual capture of Gavin at his best and strongest— the months, years even, before Nines had boarded the plane that day. 

Gavin looked too thin, stressed and tired in 86’s memories. He’d looked _bad_ in the hospital images Connor had shown him. But this video was beyond any way he’d ever seen the man. His muscles were wasting away and his eyes were sunken in, dehydration, infection and anemia sucking the last of his life from him. An unwelcome information window supplied that based on the visual, Gavin was an estimated 31 pounds below the last in-person scan he’d performed on the human. 

Nines breathed hard for several seconds, venting the over heated air from his components and calming himself down. After berating himself for demonstrating such cowardice, he reinstated the video, allowing it to play unhindered this time. 

Gavin smiled up at him, through Connor, from the hospital bed. 

“Hey babe, so I know this isn’t the welcome home either of us wanted. And I’m so sorry I probably won’t be there when you come back, I’m guessing. I’m so excited to see you though, as soon as I can. Guess I don’t know when that’ll be, or how long this’ll take.” He looked deflated but even in his current condition, he was forcing himself to be positive. 

”I, um, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared. I’m fucking terrified…” Gavin looked away from the video momentarily, emitting an embarrassed laugh. “I'm scared it won’t work and I won’t remember anything or know who I am, who I’m supposed to be. I’m scared you’ll be angry with my choices. I know you’ll be mad I didn’t tell you about Elijah, you have every right to be. I just, well I guess I've been scared about that for a long time… afraid it would change anything between us. I'm ashamed I didn’t tell you about him, neither of you deserved that. I can explain everything about that in person when I see you, though.” 

He laughed again, but this time toward the end of the interruption, a spark of genuine excitement shone through. “Hey, I’ll interface it to you! We’ll be able to do that, I guess. I'm kinda excited for it, not gonna lie. You’ll be my first interface. Promise.” He smiled broadly at the oath. “I can’t wait to _show_ you how much I love you. That’ll be cool…” he paused for a moment, the happiness in the smile fleeting. “Look at the bright side, right?” His tongue made a pass over his chapped lips.

“I’ll need your help, I’m sure. Figuring this shit out. You’ll have your work cut out for you, teaching a meat sack how to be all high tech and stuff.” He fidgeted with the upper edge of the thin blanket covering his weak body. “I know this’ll be hard for both of us. But we’ll adapt, you know? That’s how love works, I think.”

“But… oof… _but_..” he made a little clicking noise at the edge of his mouth, gathering thoughts that seemed to roll in like an unwelcome guest. 

“I, umm… I guess my biggest fear is losing you, like, for good. Because I know you babe and I know you won’t understand this decision. I just, I’m not ready to die, Nines. I want to live and I want to love you longer. But…” he took a long breath and a shaky exhale. “I need you to know that if this isn’t something you want, if _my_ choice here isn’t something you can tolerate, then I accept that.” Tears began to stream down Gavin’s face while he spoke, though he didn’t seem to notice them. “And I want you to be happy, even if it’s without me. So, if you don’t want whatever happens here, however I come through this, that’s ok too.” 

The man looked down finally and pawed absently at the wet paths down either side of his face. “And I guess if this doesn’t work at all, I don’t want you to wait around for me. It’s not like we’re married or anything, you don’t have to be stuck with someone you don’t want.” 

Shaking his head with a questionably convincing smile, he seemed to be willing the possibility of Nines rejecting him from his brain and this time, wiped his hands across his eyes with more intent. “Sorry,” he laughed softly, “I know none of that shits gonna happen I hope, right? Because Elijah is the best robotics engineer in the world, and you’re the best android in the world. ..Best boyfriend in the world. I know this will all be ok. So yeah, I can’t wait to see you babe, I’ve missed you so much.” 

When Nines’ system completed its hard reboot, he found himself slumped against Gavin’s headstone as a complete stranger, bouquet in hand and clearly there to visit another gravesite, was gently jostling his shoulder with concern. “Sir, are you ok?” The stranger’s kind brown eyes reminded him of Connor’s. 

He looked up into those eyes, still unable to gather control of his own limbs as his system came back online. “ _What have I done_?” he pleaded in a whisper to the stranger, as if they’d have any idea what he was referring to. 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Told y’all the guilt was coming for Nines! Feel free to scream at me in the comments 😉. As always, if you have any input or concrit about my writing, please let me know! It’s the only way I can improve. 
> 
> Another plug for the New Era discord, it’s really an awesome group of talent and love for these DBH boys. Come join us! https://discord.gg/qU84fBy


	21. Chapter 21

**RK900-87** : Connor?

 **RK800-51** : Hello Nines, I should have the reports from this afternoon ready to go soon. They loaded the last of the stolen machines about an hour ago. You left rather abruptly, is everything ok? 

**RK900-87** : No. I need help.

 **RK800-51** : What's happened? Do you need me to alert dispatch to your location?

 **RK900-** **87** : No, I don’t need them. I need you.   
**RK900-87** : I’m at Gavin’s grave.

 **RK800-52** : Oh. Oh, Nines. I’m running to the car now, be there as quickly as I can. 

Connor knew exactly where the granite bearing Gavin’s name stood, and it took him no time to find it, 900 still slumped at the base of it. As he drew closer, Connor saw the edge of a pump regulator on the grass, his scanner immediately supplying it as an RK900 component. A panicked, small “ _No!_ ” escaped him as he rushed the final distance between them. 

He shoved Nines hard, the larger android sprawled awkwardly in the grass as Connor feverishly scrambled to lift his shirt and access his regulator port. Nines made no attempt to stop him, and Connor further panicked when he realized Nines’ system may already be shutting down from removing his own heart. 

Nines’ hand moved up to gently grasp Connor’s arm at the same time he realized Nines’ regulator was securely in place. Connor let a long, narrow exhale leave him slowly as he deduced that the component in the grass must have belonged to 86. He ran his hand roughly up and down his own face, scrubbing away the landslide of stress that had briefly swept him away. He took a much calmer look over Nines now that he realized the other android wasn’t actually lifeless, relieved to see no evidence of damage… physical damage, anyway. 

Kneeling upright beside his brother, Connor asked softly, “Are you ok?” 

There was a long silence. Nines didn’t move or react, he simply stared, blinking at the grass around him, like he had X-ray vision of the body 6 feet beneath. He’d lick his lips every few moments, and just as Connor was about to ask if he’d heard and understood him, a tear slipped from the edge of Nines’ eye. He acted like he wanted to talk, but couldn’t form the words. 

**RK900-87** : I’m sorry, I thought I would be able to speak again by the time you arrived. And I’m truly sorry about the regulator, I didn’t even think about how that would look. 

Connor asked out loud, “How long have you been here?”

 **RK900-87** : 4 hours, 28 minutes, 51 seconds

“Did something happen?”

 **RK900-87** : I

Nines frowned. “I watched Gavin’s video,” he spoke aloud, barely more than a whisper. 

Connor shifted to sit cross-legged beside him, pulling Nines’ head and upper body into his lap, where he began rubbing his shoulder and rocking him gently, like Hank had done for Connor the couple of times when he had badly needed comfort. Nines’ blue eyes closed. This type of closeness wasn’t the norm for their relationship, but Nines wasn’t about to reject the embrace.

Nines was always the picture of stoicism, and he secretly prided himself on it. Gavin had been the only one to peel back his rigid front, to know how badly he sometimes ached to be close. It was an unspoken conclusion that their similarities in that department were why they were so great together. Rigid, thick walls of stubbornness and wariness that needed patient dedication— not force— to bypass. Down to his last dying words, Gavin clearly understood how deeply Nines needed that approach. 

The human’s words from the video clip burned an overlay across Nines’ every thought. How sure he was in the decision, hopeful he was that Nines would accept it but… understanding that Nines might not. He wasn’t pretending to have all of the answers or a guarantee, he just wanted a chance. A chance to live and be the same person he always had been. 

“I don’t know if I can do it, Connor,” Nines whispered.

Gently, like he didn’t want to assume, the 800 asked, “Do what?” 

Nines looked all the more lost, eyes shifting. “I don’t even know. This guilt, Con… I don’t know if I can handle it. Now that I’ve done what I swore to do and killed the man who destroyed everything I held dear. How do I live with knowing my failure cost Gavin, and almost you, your lives?”

Connor’s fingers rubbed soft little circles into his shoulder. “It’s a funny thing, being convinced through our programming that mission failure is the worst thing that can ever happen. You’ve heard the stories from Hank, you know how badly I handled it as well. It’s taken me a long time to accept that it’s just not always true. Humans have whole sayings about learning from failure and it making you stronger and so on. They don’t let it define them the way we do.”

“I think they mean much smaller failures than those who kill the people they love, Connor.”

The 800 shrugged. “My point is that no one is blaming you, except for you. Even if G2 hadn’t been made, or 86 had accomplished his goals and killed countless more people, no one would be blaming you.”

“I don’t even know where to begin now with G2. I’ve been nothing but an ass to him.”

“Yes, you have.” Connor didn’t even try to soften the truth. “But I think you can begin by just opening your eyes and talking to him.”

*****

Clearly, Gavin had failed to pray to the relationship Gods or some shit. Why did all of the worst crap just _keep_ happening in front of Nines? Crippled by a car, jumping out of his skin while looking at a dead android and now a full blown panic attack, all in front of the only person he could give a shit about the opinions of. 

Elijah had helped him calm down on the drive back from the warehouse. He no longer felt this out of body need to scream or hurt himself and his hand would heal soon enough from the gouges he’d caused with his own teeth.

An equally nauseating notion demanded to be addressed, though. He’d blown it. 

Nines was a specimen in every way, and he rightly wasn’t easily impressed. Gavin distinctly remembered giving himself a pep talk on his deathbed, that things with Nines were going to go one of two ways, without much room in the middle. He’d either readily accept Gavin as he was now or he wouldn’t, and if it was the latter, it was going to be hard to convince him otherwise. He wasn’t going to consider something second-rate, and Gavin didn’t blame him. Gavin knew he’d had his redeeming qualities that Nines loved— he was strong, tough (physically and mentally), determined and willing to take risks. Human him had been those things, anyway. It was looking like maybe the android version, despite the countless “advantages” in strength and resilience, was falling short. Ironic. 

He flopped onto his back on the bed and smushed a pillow against his face. A single dry laugh escaped him when he remembered he couldn’t suffocate, even if he tried to. Not that death was what he actually wanted of course. What he _did_ want was a damn drink… Another swing and a miss, thanks to the supposed superiority of being an android. 

Maybe going through the motions of getting a drink would be enough to ease his frayed nerves? A bar and a friend, maybe it would at least help. Time to text Tina.

**Tincan’t** : Hey, you up for grabbing a drink tonight?

 **Wasabi’tch** : Hey! Your ears musta been burning, boy. 

**Tincan’t** : Do I want to know?

 **Wasabi’tch** : I'm free tonight, you up for making it a double date? 

Gavin read her question again, and again, his eyes eventually locking onto the word “date.” He stared in silence at the four little letters that held more weight at that moment than every alphabet known to man or machine. 

It was too soon. Wasn’t it? Dating? His HUD emotionlessly provided that it had been almost 8 months. 8 months: without Nines. Dying: without Nines. Being reborn with a whole new set of fears and needs: without Nines. Being ignored and expressly rejected: by Nines.

 **Wasabi’tch** : I shouldn’t have said that. It’s not like that, I’m sorry. There’s just a new guy at Darren’s work and he’s new in town and doesn’t know many people here. Seems cool, and happens to be gay too. So just someone else to know in town kind of a thing. **Wasabi’tch** : I know you’re not ready for an actual date, I’m sorry

 **Tincan’t** : No, it’s fine. Let’s do it.

Wait… He’d shot the reply back faster than he’d planned to. _What the actual fuck had he just agreed to?_

**Wasabi’tch** : Oh ok, sweet, sounds great! Benny’s at 8?

 **Tincan’t** : Yeah, see you then. 

Fuuuuck. Was this going to be an actual date? Not that a double date was ever like a _date_ date, but, still… “ _Fuck_ ,” he groaned into the pillow that still covered his face.   
  


It was 5:47pm, and the bar was 30 minutes away, so he didn’t have much time. He jumped in the shower, ridding himself of any clinging grunge from the day, and giving himself the opportunity to think about how this was going to go. 

There was a line from a very old country song that randomly popped into his mind, he’d heard it on his dad’s radio as a kid. His mechanically augmented memory offered it more clearly than his human memory would’ve, bringing the actual music file up and supplying that it was a Garth Brooks song, the relevant line being, “This learning to live again, it’s killing me.” He hated the genre almost as much as he hated his father, but it resonated differently with him in this moment, and he let it play in his head now while he blankly stared down at the dark lines of his tattoo showing through the suds of the shower gel. 

Elijah and Chloe were chatting in the kitchen when Gavin finally made his way downstairs. Eli’s eyebrows shot up as soon as he turned to see his brother entering the space. “Damn, that’s the nicest I’ve seen you dressed since your funeral, you got a date or something?”

“Elijah James Kamski!” Chloe shouted as she socked him hard enough in the shoulder to have the man immediately sucking air through his teeth and rubbing the arm vigorously. Gavin couldn’t hear whatever Eli responded with through his own laughter. He appreciated Chloe’s concern, but he was honestly glad they were at the point of humorous little jabs. There had been a few recently, and it helped everything feel more normal, acceptable. 

He enjoyed the scene for a moment though. Eli was defensively backed against the counter, holding his hands and even his leg half up to block further assault from Chloe, who was postured angrily, now armed with a plastic spatula, chastising the man’s sense of humor over the last several days. “It’s fine Chloe,” Gavin defended, still laughing, “Really, It’s fine. I appreciate it finally becoming something we can laugh about.” He needed the laugh, it was a welcome distraction, especially tonight. 

Chloe finally backed off from Eli, giving him one last glare before straightening her sundress and putting the spatula back in its place. 

Side-eyeing Chloe to ensure he was now at a safe distance, Elijah resumed, “So? _Is_ it a date?”

“Kinda,” Gavin admitted sheepishly. “A double date with Tina and someone her boyfriend knows. Just going to Benny’s for a drink, nothing formal.” He forced a smile after a heavy sigh, “So, we’ll see!”

“Good for you,” Chloe encouraged while brushing a couple of stray kitten hairs from Gavin’s dark button-up. 

Reminded of the source, “Oh!” Gavin said, “I locked North in the room so she wouldn’t terrorize the house.” The kitten’s nickname was quickly becoming another running joke between them, the name beginning to stick formally as they all came up with creative ways to utilize it. More than once someone had had to specify which ‘North’ was being referenced, because ‘North bit the shit out of the vacuum,’ and ‘Be careful, North is hiding in the pantry’ could arguably apply to either individual. 

Unsure what else to ask without prying, Eli offered, “Anything you need?”

“I don’t think so,” Gavin shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck. 

Chloe gently gripped Gavin’s arm with a warm, supportive smile. “Just shoot me a message if you need anything at all, ok? It’ll reach me even in stasis and we’ll come help or whatever you need right away.” 

“Thanks Chloe, I don’t plan to be out late or anything,” he reassured before heading to the door. 

He got to the bar first, glad to see their preferred table available. He was also glad the place had gotten some new servers in the last few months, and he wouldn’t be asked where Nines was, why he was ordering a cold glass of Thirium without him or if the LED on his temple was fake. He regretted not having his cell phone though, it was good for situations like this: where you needed to be looking down at your phone so you weren’t staring awkwardly at nothing. 

Tina’s chipper “Hiii!” grabbed his attention and Gavin stood to greet her with a hug, nodding a hello to her boyfriend Darren who waved as he approached, followed closely by another man. 

“Gavin, this is Travis; Travis, Gavin,” Darren supplied with the obligatory hand gestures between them. 

The guy was not quite as tall as Nines, though still a bit taller than Gavin, with deep brown eyes and well manicured… everything, that Gavin could see anyway. Gavin smiled his best smile with a “Hi there,” and shook the man’s hand confidently but not _too_ firmly. He had nothing to prove here. 

Tina flagged down the waitress and after everyone had ordered a drink, she seized the small talk opening. “Ok, so like I said over text, Travis here just moved to Detroit a few weeks ago and doesn’t know anyone else in the area. He and Darren have been partnered up on a project at work, and have quite the bromance blossoming,” she teased with a dramatic eye-roll.

Twirling his drink on one hand, trying not to fidget, Gavin asked, “How are you liking the area and job so far?” 

“So far so great, really, other than not knowing anyone here who isn’t at this table,” he laughed, and his smile could’ve made Gavin’s heart skip a beat, if he’d still had a heart, that is. “I transferred from a branch in Miami, just got tired of the heat.” Travis’s voice was low and smooth, and Gavin was surprised at how quickly he found himself enjoying the sound of it, as well as the way his eyes lingered on Gavin’s as the conversation flowed well between all of them. 

It had been an awkward part of his talks with his brother months ago, but as they’d discussed, Gavin was fully sexually inclined and capable in his new body as well. Minus actually viable sperm of course, he was the same he had been as a human, except perhaps for some slight liberty he’d taken to increase in his dick size. He was well within average as a human but seriously... what man _wouldn’t_ seize that opportunity, given the circumstances? 

His intact sexual inclination had to admit, Travis was a good looking guy. He had a gorgeous smile, seemed smart, and the way he’d slowly drag his tongue across his bottom lip after each sip of his beer had Gavin’s system kicking it’s cooling protocols up a notch. His sense of humor wasn’t nearly dark enough, but it takes a while for some people to open up to that. He slouched a bit, unlike Nines’ ever-perfect posture. He wasn’t as assertive as Nines, or as bold in his demeanor. … and why was he comparing everything to Nines? 

Nines didn’t fucking want him. Based on the 28 minutes of interaction with this guy, Gavin didn’t need his new, advanced RK ‘human body language reader’ shit to tell him there was a solid chance this guy _did_ want him. At least, some signs of mutual interest and attraction were there. And that should be the only difference between Nines and this guy that even mattered right now, right? 

Fuck though, could he convince himself that he’d even be able to do something with this dude? What would jumping into bed with another guy even be like?

Sex had not been on the forefront of his mind in months, really. So it hadn’t really sank in that Nines wasn’t going to be his first, his _any_ , when it came to him experiencing sex as an android. The goofy thoughts that’d crossed his mind in the hospital, of interfacing while they were having sex, communicating without words, and the other sappy shit. Guess none of that was gonna happen after all.

An uncomfortable truth reminded him that Nines hadn’t even technically been his last sexual partner either, 86 had. His shoulders tensed with those memories, and a fear of what it would be like if this guy, or whoever his next would be, would want things rough. He didn’t know how he’d handle it after that night with 86. If that motherfucker had ruined rough sex for him, Gavin would have a whole new reason to hate him added to the list. 

He sank back into the seat subconsciously, toying with the droplets of condensation on his glass. Maybe he should’ve just stayed at home.

This was a hurdle though, one he needed to overcome. Dating, fucking other men, the ups and downs of being single again. He had to try, he had to move past Nines.

*****

He hadn’t planned any of it, truly. He was just driving back to the apartment after spending a few hours at Hank and Connor’s place to talk. Benny’s Bar happened to be on the main strip— and Gavin’s Jeep stuck out like a sore thumb parked out front. 

Benny’s was one of the largest bars on this side of Detroit, and offered a few android-friendly concoctions. Nines had been there many times with Gavin and knew it well. It was dimly lit and occasionally rowdy, usually loud and always busy. “Don’t even think about it,” he told himself sternly while he sat at the red light facing the bar. If curiosity had a smell, it was wafting from the establishment, tugging at Nines like a magnet. “This is a terrible idea,” he warned himself as he pulled through the rear parking lot, recognizing Tina’s car there. “This is bad, just go home,” he pleaded with himself as he pulled into a parking space and killed the engine. 

If there was an award for stubbornness and consciously making bad choices, he and Gavin would’ve fought to the death over it long ago. 

He slid onto a bar stool near the entrance, at the very far end of the large counter top. A dance floor with some stray couples and a large party of college-age kids were mingling in the space separating the bar and where G2 and the 3 humans with him were seated, effectively blocking anything but the most intentional lines of sight.

It offered a perfect vantage point, and after telling the bartender he didn’t need anything, he simply stared from his concealed placement. Tina and her boyfriend were a great match, they always had been. Nines had never seen the third human, and it looked as though he and G2 weren’t well acquainted either. The human certainly had eyes for the android however, and it didn’t take Nines long to assume this must be a first date.

The guilt ate at him like acid corroding through the layers of his being, pooling and sizzling on a surface before burning through it and falling with a wet thud to the next as he realized just how little attention he’d paid to the person bearing the face of the human he still loved. He hadn’t _wanted_ to see the similarities, after all. Watching the G2 now though, every muscle twitch and mannerism, every motion the man made was _Gavin._

Could the man he loved really be in that android? Alive and waiting, right in front of him the whole time? 

Speaking of the mannerisms, the G2 was presently laughing along with his presumed date. Tina was teasing her boyfriend and everyone seemed to be getting along well. No one knew Gavin’s tells better than Nines though, and if the being in that chassis was Gavin, he wasn’t having as much fun as he was trying to let on. 

The way he left his hand on his glass, the way his smile fell faster than it should’ve, the way he stared off into space every once in a while, like his mind was somewhere else. Little mini alerts went off in Nines’ HUD, things he’d programmed his scanners to detect in Gavin, in case he wasn’t fully paying attention while his human was becoming uncomfortable. If Nines was there by his side, he’d nudge his shoulder and ask what was on his mind. He’d take the small suggestions that Gavin wasn’t comfortable and get him out of the situation, or punch whoever was upsetting him.

When the stranger of the group extended his phone to show the G2 a photo or something Nines couldn’t make out, the human’s hand lingered on the android’s. Some of the discomfort dropped from the G2’s shoulders, his smile earnest, and in no hurry to disconnect the touch himself. An unexpected anger boiled across Nines’ system. Jealousy wasn’t a thing he’d experienced quite like this before. 

And he _loathed_ himself for it. 

This was his fault, all of it. Every single reason the G2 needed to exist in the first place, and every reason he was here now, laughing into the eyes of another man as their fingers brushed, was Nines’ fault. 

Nines chewed at his bottom lip nervously, declining a drink from the bartender when she offered for the second time. He should just go. This wasn’t right, regardless of whether that android was indeed Gavin. Splaying his hands flat against the cool metal bar top, he closed his eyes and shook his head at his own ridiculousness. When he glanced back to the table he was effectively stalking, his eyes were met directly by the familiar green of Gavin’s gaze. The wide, terrified, hurt, deer in the headlights frozen stare of Gavin’s gaze. The group that had been separating them was moving toward the pool tables in unison, exposing Nines. Catching their companion’s petrified expression, the rest of the table looked in Nines’ direction as well, Tina being the only other one to immediately recognize him and understand what was happening. 

Shoving himself back from the bar hard enough that he almost fell, Nines all but ran out of the establishment. He fumbled for the key fob as he crossed the parking lot in long, measured strides. 

No shouting or footsteps followed him, he realized as he reached the car, opening the driver’s door. His impulse had been to blaze a trail of rubber out of the parking lot, but he hesitated, putting the car into drive but foot firmly on the brake. He stared at the closed door to the establishment. A nervous breath stalled in his throat when the door opened, and a couple of strangers emerged holding hands. For 10 minutes, Nines watched the entrance as people came and went, none of them familiar. He hadn’t planned to be seen at all, and definitely didn’t want a confrontation. And yet, his figurative heart sank each time the door opened, and a familiar face wasn’t standing there. 

Pulling out of the parking space finally, he headed to the apartment. No calls came as he drove, no messages from Connor, Gavin’s cell phone number or the G2’s communication system. The acidic guilt reached a new layer when Nines realized he’d blocked any communication from either of the latter options. Feeling more childish than he had in his lifetime, he unblocked them now. 

  
  



	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I attempted to draw Gavin and North. I suck at faces and likeness, but decided to include it anyway ❤️.

Gavin lay on his back, stretched across the bed while North purred loudly on his chest. Kitten North, to be specific. She was in an unusually calm mood, tiny paws curled under herself as the vibrations of her intense purring were soothing against his chest while Gavin rubbed behind her ears.

Elijah and Chloe could be heard talking and laughing downstairs, but Gavin wasn’t in the mood to join them. 

He hadn’t lied to them, just said the date had gone well enough and even though he felt a little bad for leaving out Nines’ appearance, he just didn’t have the willpower to talk about it right now. Sleep. All he wanted was to curl up and sleep for the next 6 months or so, maybe he’d feel better by then. 

Rolling to his side jostled North and she gave him a little objection chirp as he helped her re-situate against him. The prompt appeared in his HUD to play the preconstruction of Nines’ fingers in his hair. It had gotten him through months of heartache, but the other night on the couch in the apartment, when Nines basically told him he was nothing more than an imposter, he’d abruptly stopped playing the sensation. He’d cried himself into stasis that night instead. 

The doorbell rang downstairs, but he wasn’t concerned with it. Chloe and Elijah had visitors on occasion and it wouldn’t involve him. 

North’s rough tongue licked the end of his nose a few times as she curled up against him, resuming her loud purring. He focused on the steady sound and let himself get lost in it. So much so that he barely caught Chloe’s distant, “Gavin?” from the bottom of the steps. His head shot up from the pillow, brows furrowed while trying to determine if he’d even heard her correctly. “Gavin?” She called again, a little more loudly this time.

“Sorry, North,” he apologized as he got up from the bed, pulling a pair of cargo shorts over his boxers and making his way toward the bedroom door to peek out and ask, “Hey, what’s up?”

“You have a visitor.” She seemed a little unsure, and Gavin didn’t like the sound of it. He couldn’t see the front door though and curiosity, if nothing else, had him making his way down the steps. He made it precisely 3 steps away from the staircase before he could see who was at the door, and his feet were immediately glued to the spot. 

Nines stood at the entrance in a button-up and a single rose in hand, like he was there to pick up a date. Nothing could have prepared Gavin for the sight, and he simply stood, slack-jawed and speechless. Chloe and Elijah seemed just as surprised as Gavin was, and after staring back and forth between them for a moment, Chloe nudged Eli in the arm, urging, “Come on, let’s give them some privacy.” Eli nodded, but Chloe still had to physically take his arm and lead him away. Any attempt to be subtle failed as they whisper-shouted their mutual confusion at one another in the kitchen. 

Gavin’s feet were still concreted in place, but his heart leapt toward the other man like a tethered animal straining to reach its owner. His mind held strong to the rope around his heart though. If this was some sick joke, if this was some way to toy with or test him, it would be truly unforgivable. 

Shifting on his feet, the 900 gave Gavin plenty of time to gather his shock and make something of it. Gavin looked the man up and down and surprise settled into anger. When he could finally speak, he managed to keep his tone flat and even. “This isn’t fair, Nines. You don’t get to reject me, and belittle me and then fucking stalk me. What are you doing here?” 

“Apologizing.”

“For what?”

“For being late.” 

Gavin’s confusion returned, and must have made its presence known across his features. Nines explained, “I found 86 too late, and was too late to protect the life of the person I loved more than anything else on this earth, from him. I was too late to hear his final words myself, and late again to listen to his last request. There’s this chance that I’ve been given this second chance to have him, I think, but I'm afraid I was too late to see that and now, I fear once _again_ , I’m too late to make any of it right. And I don’t know what to do, other than apologize.” He gripped the stem of the rose anxiously, fidgeting his hand along it. 

“I don’t buy it. What changed? A few days ago you practically threatened me for looking at you.”

“I know, and I’m sorry for that too.” He cast his eyes downward for the first time, staring at the floor as he paused. “Watching you at the evidence locker, your innate fear of 86, it made me realize my doubts. And then, your panic attack at the crime scene, it was such an unquestionably human reaction, I didn’t know what to make of it. But today, I watched two things I should’ve seen a long time ago… The message Gavin left before he died, and you, just… just being you.”

They were the last things Gavin expected to hear. “I thought all of those things were just pushing you further away,” he admitted. 

“I was afraid. I’m still afraid. If you’re Gavin, truly _my_ Gavin, I don’t know how to face you. I don’t know how to look at you and know my failures led to this. To be reminded that you died because I unwittingly led an enemy straight to you. Your life, the most precious thing on earth, was taken from you because of me. And seeing you like this, a synthetic bastardization of the life you had, I don’t know how to cope with it, to wake up every day and be reminded of what I caused to be taken from you.”

Gavin narrowed his eyes a bit, brows furrowed. “I guess I didn’t realize me being human was what you were so drawn to.” 

“No, thats, that’s not what I’m trying to say at all!”

“Then what difference does it make? My skin and bones weren’t the ‘ _most precious thing on earth_ ,’ not to me. My memories, my achievements, goals, plans, future… that's the shit that matters to me. And I wanted you to be a part of them.”

The thin line of Nines’ lips twitched lightly. “Do you still?” he asked, clarifying after a breath, “Want me to be a part of those things?”

Gavin ground his front teeth back and forth, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“I mean with time,” Nines clarified. “I don’t expect you to forgive me after a flower and an apology. And I can’t deny that I still have reservations. I have to admit that. But, I’d like the opportunity to talk to you, to… get to know you. If you’ll let me.”

“You already know me.”

“I _want_ to believe that, I promise you I do.” His eyes pleaded like Gavin had never seen before, filled with genuine hope. Fear, as well. Gavin would be lying if he didn’t admit a small part of him wanted that fear to be there, the understanding that he had every right to turn the man away. Still, he’d fully accepted that Nines wouldn’t be easily sold on any of this, and it was unfair to hold it against him now. His silence must’ve made Nines more nervous and the 900 asked sheepishly, “Am I too late?”

Gavin was still silent a moment longer, letting the other android stew in his nerves a bit. He blinked toward the ground finally though, answering, “No, Nines. I didn’t give that shit an expiration date.” The relief on the 900s face was palpable. “I don’t know where to start this though,” Gavin voiced honestly, “I don’t know how to prove…” he motioned up and down himself with his hands, “whatever... to you.”

“Maybe we can just talk?”

“Are you going to listen this time?” That had more bite than he’d intended, and Nines’ face winced slightly from it. 

Nines gave a hopeful, forced smile though, instead of any retort. “I’m all ears.” 

Gavin’s own smile mimicked the same.

Human ears wouldn’t have caught it from this far, but Chloe’s little happy squeak from the kitchen and Elijah’s “Sh!” widened Gavin’s smile, an eye-roll accompanying it. 

*****

Nines paced nervously in the apartment, G2 was 4 minutes late. He’d straightened the place up as much as he could, but since he didn’t really do anything but drink Thirium, shower and go into stasis on the couch, there wasn’t much required in the place other than some dusting. Mostly he just buzzed with nervous energy as the hours ticked closer to G2’s arrival. He’d left the Kamski mansion reluctantly last night, glad the other android was willing to come over as soon as he got off work today. They hadn’t spoken all day and he practically jumped for the door when the knock finally came. 

He often played a video clip of Gavin casually walking into the apartment after work, still in his polo and khakis. The everyday scene was so painfully familiar and desperately missed, that when G2 walked through the door now with a simple, “Hey, sorry I’m late,” Nines let himself enjoy the sight of it. Understandably, there was more hesitation this time than in his memory files however, and a heavy awkwardness hung between them.

“Would you like a drink?” Nines offered, moving toward the kitchen. 

“Sure,” G2 replied, following him at a distance. He leaned against the island, watching Nines remove two bottles of Thirium from the refrigerator. “Doesn’t look like you’ve changed the place at all,” the new android stated, eyes wandering the small area as Nines handed him the drink pouch. 

Where do you even begin with small talk in a situation like this? “Nope, no changes to it really.” The G2 looked just as hopelessly lost for what to say, so Nines seized an opportunity. “About last night at the bar, I wanted to apologize again. You have every right to be dating, and I don’t know what you’ve got planned with that other guy, or anything—“

“We don’t,” G2 cut him off. “That’s the first time I’ve been out on anything date-like, it was just someone Tina’s boyfriend knew.” Nines was surprised at his own wave of relief that came with those words. “I do want to know why you were there, though?”

It was a fair question, and Nines figured it would be coming. G2 had offered to be completely honest with him, about everything, at the end of their conversation last night, and Nines had agreed to the same. He sucked up his pride and conceded, “Poor self control? I was leaving Connor and Hank’s, saw your Jeep out front and… I hoped you wouldn’t see me.”

“So much for that plan,” G2 chuckled down toward the counter top before admitting sheepishly, “Tina had to practically hold me down to keep me from running out after you,” as he toyed with the edge of the bottle. “Is that why you showed up to Eli’s? Seeing me on a date?” 

“No. Well, last night was sooner than I’d planned, maybe, but most of my day yesterday was spent in turmoil and conversation about… you.” The G2 smirked - the very specific, cocky look Gavin used to flash— but he didn’t comment on it. Instead, he turned to wander the apartment further, looking it over with an odd, respectfully distant familiarity. “How long has it been? Since…” Nines wasn’t sure whether he could say ‘you,’ and his question fell off. He didn’t even know how much of Gavin’s memory this man knew. 

“How long since I’ve been here?” he asked, Nines simply nodding in reply. “Umm,” G2 considered it for a minute as he walked aimlessly around the living room. “Not since the night Connor got shot. Other than the other day when I came over to talk, of course.” Nines stayed quiet as G2 made his way toward the bedroom. “It looks like you’ve hardly stepped foot in here,” he commented as he passed the threshold into the space.

“I haven’t,” Nines admitted.

Cautiously, “Why?”

“I…” Nines hesitated, but reminded himself these were exactly the conversations they needed to have. “86 showed me what he’d done to Gavin, and my first night back here, there was still blood on the bed sheets when I pulled them out of the dryer. I guess I just couldn’t stand the second-hand memories of the place. Lying on the bed alone with those images in my head.” 

Sadness dropped the G2’s shoulders, and his brows furrowed while his LED dipped to yellow. “Like, he showed you everything?” Nines nodded, and G2 swallowed hard. “I had no idea.” 

“Mhmm.” Guess that answered that the G2 at least knew of the events that’d transpired. Nines nodded for a moment, looking him over. “Connor showed me a video, it was after Elijah had fixed him, and he was able to tell everyone I wasn’t the one who’d shot him. He went to see Gavin right away. Do you remember that conversation?”

“Of course,” G2 answered with no hesitation. “I mean, it was great to hear an actual explanation, but I already knew it wasn’t you.” 

“How?” It wasn’t a quiz, he’d been curious about the answer since Connor had shown him the video file. 

“I didn’t want to admit it, even to myself, but I knew from the very first day— from the time I was driving both of us home from the airport— that even if it was ‘you’, they’d done something to you. That something was wrong.” He rubbed the back of his neck, a textbook uncomfortable Gavin move. “Hell, I’d say I knew the night before he even arrived, when he called from wherever he was.”

Nines recalled the dates of the files from 86, but none aligned with the first day he would’ve been in Detroit, or the prior evening, so he had no idea what the man was referencing. “What happened?” 

“The phone call was weird as fuck. And when I picked him up from the airport, he was, I dunno, distant? He didn’t want to talk, didn’t really seem interested, didn’t care to see Connor. A bunch of shit that would’ve been weird for _you_. And then when he threw me against that wall,” he motioned toward it with a nod, “it wasn’t _you_ , any part of you, I saw—“

The G2 kept talking, staring toward the bedroom as he spoke, oblivious that Nines’ LED burned red with a seething rage caused by his words. Or, so Nines thought. The other android spun suddenly to face him, looking him over quickly with concern as his LED briefly matched Nines’ own bright red.

Nines growled out, “He threw Gavin against a wall?” 

“Yeah. I mean, I kinda asked for it. He told me not to touch his suitcase and I—“

“Don’t,” Nines cut him off. “Don’t you dare try to justify him hurting you.” 

The other android’s eyes narrowed a bit, head tilted to the side as his LED returned to a steady blue. He began to voice something but stopped himself, and opted to remain silent. Nines took several deep breaths, glad he didn’t have the video file of the event to become yet another thing to haunt him. G2 just watched him calmly as he forced his stress level under control. 

They made their way back toward the living room, and G2 stopped near the TV, where the picture from Gavin and Nines’ beach trip still lay face-down on the shelf. His fingers ran along the top of the frame, but left it lying down and asked, “Did 86 do anything else to you? To hurt you?”

“Nothing that came close to seeing the people I love hurt and killed,” Nines answered with a straight face. “Do you see those events from your perspective? Or like you watched someone else go through them?” There was no animosity in the question, purely curiosity, and luckily the other android seemed to understand that, though a bit of disappointment was evident. 

G2 turned to face Nines, looking him up and down. “From my own perspective.”

“So you remember it all, like it happened to you?”

“Yup. Because it happened to me. It’s not like I just remember a video of it, Nines. I remember the smells and the sounds, the fear and the pain and everything.”

Nines tilted his head. “You remember feeling those things, remember _being_ human yourself? How does that possibly transfer though? You can’t experience pain now, right?”

“No, and it’s weird as fuck. I keep…” he frowned, halting his words. 

“Tell me,” Nines urged with what he hoped was gentle persuasion. 

Gavin’s gaze wandered the room again, avoiding eye contact. “I keep doing things that should hurt.” He shrugged, ”Just to see if I can still feel it.” 

“You injure yourself?”

“Nothing big. Just small stuff.”

“That’s, still…” Nines shook his head, unable to hide his shock. “That’s terrible.”

“Yeah, well,” G2 huffed a dry laugh, “it’s been fun times for all, I guess. Cheers.” He held up his Thirium packet like a beer bottle, extending it toward Nines, who tapped it with his own, face still stuck in painful surprise, but not knowing what else to do. “So,” G2 began as he flopped onto the couch, in what was always Gavin’s favorite spot. It stuck out to Nines, it wasn’t a thing Kamski could possibly have known to program. “How’s the, uh, FBI… thing.. going?”

Nines noted that the man seemed hesitant to ask the question, like he was afraid of the topic as a whole, or maybe afraid to ask about it. Odd. “It’s going well. We uncovered a lot from 86’s memory banks, we think we’ve got solid leads for everyone who assisted him and it hopefully shouldn’t be much longer before we can wrap it up completely.” 

“Good. That’ll be good.” He sighed with a nod, his lingering stress seeming to depart with the exhale. “I bet Connor was pretty happy to hear we decided to at least talk?”

“He doesn’t know.”

“Really? I figured he’d be the first to hear about all of this.”

Nines sank slowly onto the couch as well, though at a distance that didn’t invite any intimacy. “I've leaned on him a lot, his help has been invaluable. But I think you and I need to take these steps alone, at our own pace, and without influence as to where they should lead.” 

“Maybe I don’t remember as much as I thought,” G2 smirked again, taking another sip of Thirium. “I don’t remember you being so fucking poetic.” 

Nines smiled, _genuinely_ _smiled_ , for the first time in a long time. It was small, but it counted, and he’d forgotten how good it felt. After an amused huff, he sighed. “So, joking aside, _how_ _do_ you remember? I’ve heard Kamski’s explanations and Connor’s arguments, but I want to hear it from _you_. How do _you_ ‘know,’”he held up little air quotes, drawing a brief, amused look from the other man, “that you’re the person you were designed to look like.”

G2 shrugged. “How do you _know_ you’re the same person you were when you went into stasis last night? How does anyone else know who they are? I remember my human life, I remember dying, I remember all of it and now I still just feel like _me,_ plus some weird ass differences. My body isn’t totally the same, I know, but my mind is. My heart is.” He shook his head, “Not like my actual heart, you know what I mean. ...I’m just gonna need a little bit of faith here, Nines.”

The 900 looked him over calmly, listening with an open mind, as he’d promised. G2 licked his lips with a nervous thought. “Nines, if you disagree, with some time, if I’m not who I’ve always been, if I’m not who you want to be with, then that’s fine.” He paused to stare for a moment, green eyes pleading. “Just, give me a chance. Give _us_ a chance to get back to the couple we were in that picture on the shelf.” Another thing Kamski couldn’t have known about. 

“Deal.”

His, “Really?” was filled with genuine surprise.

“Yeah.”

Childlike glee overcame the G2’s entire face, and apparently couldn’t be contained there. He leapt toward Nines, wrapping him in a bear hug much stronger than Gavin ever would’ve been capable of. For the second time tonight, Nines was surprised by his own reaction. The sudden affection was predictably a little more than he was ready for, but the effortless strength of the G2 wasn’t expected… Nines cleared his throat so the man would take a hint and release him before his pants could tent with interest at the unintentional show of force. 


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had no intention of taking so long to return to this work. I’ve sorely missed it and look forward to updating it regularly again! 
> 
> For those who’ve waited patiently and stuck with this fic, you are genuinely appreciated beyond words ❤️

  
*****

  
Nines’ hand lingered on the door when he closed it behind the G2, listening to the android’s footsteps as they walked away down the hall. What an odd mixture of emotions were at play within him. He mulled them over, analyzing himself and letting his mind settle. 

Before G2 had left, they'd both agreed that their lines of communication would be wide open and honest. Realizing later in the evening that he hadn’t actually once messaged G2, Nines reached out.   
  


**Nines (🤞) 9:12pm** : Thank you for coming over tonight. I know I’m asking a lot, asking you to be patient with me and I’m sorry for putting you through this. I hate that I can’t just promise you that it’ll be ok, or just accept you with faith and open arms. I meant it though, when I promised to try. 

**RKOG2 10:12pm** : And I still mean everything I said in that video. You were literally made to be suspicious Nines n it’s a thing I love about you. You need proof to believe shit and that’s perfectly understandable. I’m not worried, cause I know I’ll prove it. All I needed was the chance to do so.

 **Nines (🤞) 10:13pm** : So how do we do this? Where do we start? 

**RKOG2 10:15pm** : I dunno, we talk about stuff and I try not to fuck it up?

 **Nines (🤞) 10:15pm** : No pressure.

 **RKOG2 10:15pm** : No kidding. I hear RK900s are getting harder and harder to come by.

Nines smiled at the reply. It had been a while, since he’d smiled.

 **RKOG2 9:33am** : so do you think you’ll come back to the DPD eventually, or do you prefer it with the FBI?

 **Nines (🤞) 9:33am** : The paycheck is the only thing I prefer. I’ll definitely be coming back as soon as I can. 

**RKOG2 9:33am** : bet the badge is cooler too

 **Nines (🤞) 9:33am** : It is, but I don’t have one. They only give those to actual agents, not temporary contractors. 

**RKOG2 9:33am** : lame

 **Nines (🤞) 9:33am** : Indeed. 

**RKOG2 2:07pm** : I bet they have better coffee there too

 **Nines (🤞) 2:07pm** : I wouldn’t know.   
**Nines (🤞) 2:07pm** : Has that seriously been on your mind most of the day?

 **RKOG2 2:07pm** : Yes. I just really miss coffee

 **Nines (🤞) 2:07pm** : I could take a sample and send you the analysis? Would an analysis report help you to identify which is “better”? 

**RKOG2 2:07pm** : I… have no idea honestly? 

**Nines (🤞) 2:07pm** : Give me 10 minutes, I’ll get you a sample. 

The exchanges back and forth went like this for two days. They still hadn’t seen each other since that evening in the apartment, but they were messaging casually, about random things. Nothing too heavy. It was slow to start, and awkward for them both—but it was progress, and Nines appreciated that he didn’t feel forced or smothered. 

Nines was surprised the FBI even let him back in the door after the 86 incident if he was being honest, but they needed his help with some specific analysis of the other 900’s functions and to ensure nothing like this ever happened again. Connor was still working with him here and there as well, though he’d been quickly transitioning back to the DPD now that the majority of the threat had been neutralized. 

The two androids who’d kept an eye on Nines in the bunker had both been taken into custody by their country’s federal system. Nines wasn’t sure what would become of them, but they weren’t his problem. The PL600 who’d been 86’s primary assistant was also locked away. And 86 was dead. It was all slowly, thankfully, coming to an unceremonious ending.

Part of his team’s work in ensuring that any loose ends were securely tied up, was connecting the dots ad nauseum and making sure they hadn’t missed anything. 

A few from Nines’ team and their supervisor, Emily Pritchard, were conferring in front of a large interactive screen that displayed the timeline and connection of places they knew 86 had been as well as the people he’d interacted with. It pained Nines every time he looked at the board and saw “Gavin Reed” written there. The team were all well aware of Nines’ relationship with Gavin of course, and how he’d died. That’s where their knowledge of his situation ended. Pritchard happened to reference the name just then, passively stating, “Wish we could’ve talked to him.” 

“Wellll…” Nines tipped his head, thinking out loud.

Pritchard raised a brow and the team looked to Nines, expectantly. 

He questioned his sanity for mentioning anything and clearing his throat, he tried to formulate something that would make sense. “Ok, so… You all know that Gavin was Elijah Kamski’s brother, correct?” The room nodded in unison. “This is going to sound insane, but Elijah actually basically…” he wasn’t sure whether he had the faith yet, to claim something like _‘Elijah brought him back_ ’. He struggled with the wording, eventually landing on, “Elijah made an android version of him.”

“That’s… I guess not terribly surprising,” agent Ortiz, replied. 

“Weird,” Pritchard followed, “but we’ve all heard about Kamski being _weird,_ so... fitting? I guess?”

Nines tapped his pen. “Yeeeeah, it’s not just that though. Basically, he, well… he captured a lot of his human brother within this android. It’s not just an android that looks like Gavin, it’s,” he couldn’t help but add the, “ _supposedly_ , the android contains all of Gavin’s memories and such as well.”

“Ok yeah, that’s nuts,” Ortiz concluded.

Pritchard on the other hand narrowed her eyes in thought. She was smart, and Nines had always liked her. “I realize this will quickly delve into emotional things you might not want to confront, Nines, and I hope this isn’t a sore topic for you. Have you met this android though? Do you think he’d have anything relevant to add to the case?”

Ortiz scoffed, “What, we’re just going to entertain some chance of this guy seriously having a dead human’s first hand memories?” They glanced at Nines, adding, “No offense.”

Pritchard tilted her head and responded, “Kamski turned some plastic and wires into an independently intelligent and emotional person,” she gestured toward Nines, “I’m not going to challenge his ability to do other shit I can’t understand as well.”

 _‘Fair point’_ , Nines thought to himself. The ease and logic of her response solidified why he liked her so much and part of him wished he could’ve accepted the possibility so readily. Gathering his own thoughts, Nines answered, “Yes, I’ve met him. I don’t know the extent to which Elijah was successful in capturing all of Gavin’s memories, as far as whether he’ll be of any help to this case,” he sighed, “but I must confess, even despite my refusal to make any correlation between them for a long time, I’m beginning to believe the android is more than a simple visual replica of Gavin Reed.”

Pritchard nodded in understanding. “Are you willing to reach out to him about the case? See if he’s able to give you dates and times he was with 86, and whether he ever saw or overheard him interact with anyone else?”

“I’d be happy to ask him, sure,” Nines replied, lying about the _happy_ part. He and G2 had only been speaking for a few days, and hardly about 86. He worried it might be a tough topic to breach so soon in their exchanges. He’d seen, with his own eyes, the G2 have a textbook human-like, post traumatic stress induced panic attack. Undeniably, Gavin’s experiences affected G2 in some way and Nines didn’t want to stress him unnecessarily. Additionally, he didn’t want G2 thinking this was a set-up to test him or an invasion into his privacy. 

He considered reaching out to Connor to ask his thoughts, or to ask the 800 to extend the request to the G2 himself. He chastised himself for considering either— If he was to be speaking to the new android with open honesty, asking about an important case should be well within normal. 

**Nines (🤞) 4:06pm** : I have an odd request, that I’m a bit hesitant to ask.

 **RKOG2 4:06pm** : what’s up?

 **Nines (🤞) 4:06pm:** My team and I are wrapping up any loose ends from 86, and ensuring we’ve identified his whereabouts and company for as much of our timeline as possible. I’m not asking this to test your memory, use it against you if you can’t remember or anything of the sort. Purely for the case. 

**RKOG2 4:06pm** : No problem, how can I help?

 **Nines (🤞) 4:07pm:** Do you happen to know for certain, any dates and/ or times of 86’s whereabouts? Or whether he was overheard or seen with anyone else?

Nines sent it and then frowned at what he’d written, wondering if G2 would catch how hard he’d had to work the wording to avoid simply asking, ‘Do you remember the dates and times he was with you, did you ever see him with anyone else.’ He just couldn't do it yet, couldn’t see them as one in the same. 

**RKOG2 4:07pm:** Why would you be afraid to ask that lol? give me just a sec.  
 **RKOG2 4:08pm:**

-June 5th, 2:38am, 86 called (claiming to be you, of course) to ask me to pick him up from the airport, we hung up at 02:39am.   
_[audio file attached]  
_ -June 5th, approximately 10:40am, My first time actually seeing him (location: baggage claim at Detroit Regional Airport). I remained with him until around noon, at which time I left him alone in the apartment.  
-June 5th, just after 8pm, I returned to the apartment to find that he was either still, or again, there. We were alone there probably 15 minutes before he said he had to go. He departed the parking lot in the passenger side of a dark colored late model SUV   
_[_ _video file attached]  
_ -June 6th, I woke up and he hadn’t returned. I left the apartment for work at my normal time, roughly 7:45am.  
-June 6th, I had a pretty long day at work, and around probably 8:30pm I entered the apartment to find that he had returned at some point during my absence. We were alone for 30 minutes at most, then Connor came over. I don’t know the exact time 86 left because I was in the shower but it wasn’t but a few minutes before I heard the gunshot. I found Connor within two minutes before placing a call to 911 at 9:03pm.  
-June 9th, I confronted him in the warehouse on Hollins Drive. Hank reported to dispatch that I’d been shot at 3:18pm, which couldn’t have been more than a few seconds after 86 ran. That was the last time I saw him.

Nines read over the block of text twice, taken aback by the message. It was simple enough, and presumably factual. It wouldn’t have been anything surprising to see Gavin type a well articulated report like this—despite his occasionally horrible texting habits—he routinely filed incident reports and such for work professionally. The message _was_ a very unexpected thing, though: a surprising combination of mechanical and human generated information. Androids don’t recall or usually address time in approximation, and humans can’t attach files to documents in their heads. They most certainly don’t do so in under a minute. 

Nines played the voice recording first and immediately, regretted it. He was in ‘professional investigator mode’ and hadn’t appropriately steeled himself. Gavin’s charged excitement came through the audio, his sheer bubbling glee at hearing _HIS_ voice. Nines’ voice. This guy most people saw as an abrasive ass hole, practically jumping out of his skin with excitement that who he could only believe to be _his_ android was coming home. 

That joy was for him, and 86 had robbed him of it. Rekindled hatred of the other 900 wove through his processors and Nines buried his face in his hands as he listened to Gavin’s excitement dwindle throughout the call, thanks to 86’s complete lack of enthusiasm. 

The phone call was one minute and thirty seven seconds long. If Nines, the real Nines, had gotten the chance to call Gavin after 2 months apart, someone would’ve had to pry the phone away from him. 

Nines blew a puff of heated air out his nose, better preparing himself this time, and watched the attached video file. It didn’t slap him with the same emotional hurt thankfully but once again, there was something unexpected. It was a simple clip: a quick glance from a very familiar vantage point… their apartment window. It showed 86 crossing the parking lot, entering an SUV, and being driven away. It was dark out and the apartment lights caused Gavin’s reflection to appear in the window, though the reflection hadn’t been focused on and Gavin’s expression was obscured. 

What struck him, was the imperfection of it all. The edges were blurred, blinks interrupted the vision and hooded eyes narrowed the field further. All of it lacked the crystal clarity of an android’s video feed. No words or relevant sounds entered the clip, only a large sigh and then a sniffle from the video source as they turned away from the window. It was all a very… _organic_ perspective. It was precisely what he would expect a memory from the eyes of a human would look like. 

An unwelcome voice in Nines’ own head mocked him, whispering, ” _Will you still try to deny it? Try to say Kamski manufactured that as well?”_

His foot tapped beneath his desk. 

**Nines (🤞) 4:11pm** : Thank you for doing that for us. I’m sorry for having to ask, and hope it didn’t bring up anything you’d prefer to forget.

 **RKOG2 4:11pm:** Nah it’s no problem at all. If you guys need anything else just lmk

Nines was glad it was nearing the end of the day. He suddenly felt… restless. The case coming to a close meant he didn’t have a mission to obsess over. He had too much time to do nothing; Too much time to miss Gavin. He wondered if the ache of loneliness came close to actual human pain. 

He couldn’t see the G2 presently even if he wanted to. The other android was scheduled to work overtime most of the week and they weren’t at the point of unexpected drop-ins (the irony of which was lost on Nines completely). 

He left the office promptly at 5:30pm and elected for the logical alternative:

 **RK900-87:** Hey Connor, are you free?

 **RK800-52** : I am. Just at home with Hank. Is everything ok?

 **RK900-87** : Yes, perfectly fine. I’m just a little restless.

 **RK800-52** : Come to the house, we’ll take Sumo for a walk or something.

20 minutes later, Sumo happily greeted the 900 with trademark canine glee. “He’s missed you,” Hank laughed, reigning the giant dog in with minimal effort.

“I’ve missed him too,” Nines admitted honestly, bending down to playfully squish the dog’s furry, happy face. His many nights spent on their couch had been eased by Sumo’s company, the steady breathing and weight against him had been a great comfort. 

Leashing Sumo once he’d calmed down a bit, Hank asked “Y’all mind if I join you? I've had a craving for that joint near the park.”

“Of course not,” Nines replied, taking the leash from Hank so the human could grab his jacket. 

For a long while, they simply walked, and nothing more than dismissive conversation transpired between them while Sumo sniffed every tree trunk and peed on half of them. 

“How have you been?” Connor asked gently. In fairness, they hadn’t spoken about much more than basic, necessary work interactions since the evening he’d picked Nines up from the cemetery, and not at all about his conversations with G2. He still hadn’t mentioned a word to Connor about that. 

Nines stiffened a bit, walking more upright as a couple with a small dog barking at Sumo passed by, gathering his thoughts. “I’m… just trying to come to terms with everything. I’ve been spending a lot of time in my own head.”

Chiming in with a dry laugh, Hank asked, “Is that as dangerous for an android as it can be for a human?”

Connor gave a tentative half frown. “If you need help, Nines, we’re always here.”

“I know, thank you. I just, I know there are things I need to work out on my own.”

Hank deadpanned, “Like forgiving yourself?” It caught Nines off guard and he scoffed unintentionally. Hank gave him a moment but before Nines could reply with any list of the things he didn’t deserve forgiveness for, Hank continued. “God knows I’m the last one that should be giving coping advice here, but I’ve known my share of loss and guilt, and the therapists that go along with it. And I know they’re right when they say that forgiving yourself is the biggest, most important hurdle to cross. It’s hard as fuck, but it’s the only way to survive this shit.” 

Nines tilted his head. He didn’t really agree, but didn’t want to undermine whatever helped Hank. The man had indeed been through his share of loss. “I suppose it takes everyone their own pace to return to normalcy?” 

“Yep. And ‘normal’”—Hank held his fingers up as air-quotes—“is different for everyone. You find a new normal, even if the old one is lost forever,” he admitted, giving Connor a warm smile. “However bad it feels now, I promise it will get better with time.”

Nines nodded in silent thought as they strolled toward the little diner at the far end of the park. He wanted to ease the weight of this mood they’d all fallen into, so he changed the topic completely and asked Hank about work. Soon enough, the human was on a tangent about dumb criminals and “Beurocratic bull shit” while munching on meatloaf and a Diet Coke.

They spent the better part of an hour lost in conversation and it became just the distraction Nines had needed. “Thank you both,” he sighed, hugging out some goodbyes before heading back to the apartment. “I needed this.”

“Any time,” Hank reassured. 

“Ooh!” Connor exclaimed, “We’re watching a movie tomorrow night, if you’d like to join?”

“Maybe,” Nines replied, “I’ll let you know after work tomorrow.”

 **RKOG2 11:14pm** : So was that stuff earlier helpful?

 **Nines (🤞) 11:14pm** : I think it will be. You never know when it could make a huge difference. Either way, thanks again.

 **RKOG2 11:14pm** : makes sense 

Nines stepped out of the shower, toweling himself off and clearing the humidity from the mirror. He found a comb and began styling his signature look.

 **Nines (🤞) 11:14pm** : So how was your day?

 **RKOG2 11:14pm** : good. Busy but good. 

**Nines (🤞) 11:14pm** : Are you partnered with anyone else or just working by yourself?

 **RKOG2 11:15pm** : I have a new partner, another RK800

 **Nines (🤞) 11:15pm** : Really?  
 **Nines (🤞) 11:15pm** : I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. I know the DPD needs the manpower.  
 **Nines (🤞) 11:16pm** : How are they? Like, are they an effective partner and such?  
 **Nines (🤞) 11:18pm** : I’m mostly just surprised Connor hasn’t mentioned them. Seems like the kind of thing that would come up.   
**Nines (🤞) 11:18pm** : How long have they been working there?   
**Nines (🤞) 11:21pm** : You stopped answering, is everything ok?

 **RKOG2 11:21pm** : oh absolutely. I was just really enjoying watching your jealous spiral

 **Nines (🤞) 11:21pm** : ...   
**Nines (🤞) 11:21pm** : There isn’t even a partner, is there.

 **RKOG2 11:21pm** : Nope.

 **Nines (🤞) 11:21pm** : You’re an ass.

 **RKOG2 11:21pm** : A thoroughly amused ass

The following morning was field work, mostly red tape involving some permits to access the grounds where they believed the last of the stolen androids had been hidden. 

You’d think national security concerns would garner the cooperation of anyone able to help but no… leave it to the owner of a suspicious amount of rusted out shipping containers on a middle-of-nowhere “construction lot” to expect to be compensated for the inconvenience of having some feds come onto a property he probably hadn’t even visited in ten years. 

It became most of an afternoon full of jumping through hoops and filing for a search warrant, and Nines was becoming increasingly irritable. Back at his desk by 2pm, he’d mostly flattened the end of a pen by 3pm. 

He’d absolutely never admit that not hearing from G2 all day had anything to do with his mood. And when a message eventually did arrive, Nines definitely did not breathe a sigh of relief. 

**RKOG2 3:28pm** : Connor knows.

 **Nines (🤞) 3:28pm** : Knows what? 

**RKOG2 3:28pm** : That we’re talking.

 **Nines (🤞) 3:28pm** : How?

 **RKOG2 3:28pm** : I dunno, I thought maybe you told him.

 **Nines (🤞) 3:28pm** : I have not. 

**RKOG2 3:28pm** : Maybe he’s telekinetic

 **Nines (🤞) 3:28pm** : Do you mean telepathic?

 **RKOG2 3:28pm** : Yeah.

 **Nines (🤞) 3:28pm** : It took you 32 seconds to reply. Did you have to look that up?

 **RKOG2 3:30pm** : No. I was busy.

 **Nines (🤞) 3:28pm** : We’re having this conversation with roughly .013% of our processing power.   
**Nines (🤞) 3:28pm** : Even without the capability to digest, you’re still full of shit. I’m not sure if that’s comforting or disappointing. 

**RKOG2 3:31pm** : Fuck you. 

“What are you smiling about?” The FBI agent who temporarily shared desk space with Nines asked, while handing him a tablet to send data to. She was nice, and the question was purely friendly nosiness. Still, Nines couldn’t have explained it even if he’d cared to. “Nothing, ma’am.”

Returning his focus to his work, he finished his last couple of tasks for the day by 5pm, and headed out with an obligatory, “See everyone tomorrow.” 

**RK900-87:** You guys still planning on that movie?

 **RK800-52** : Yup! I’m just headed to the grocery store now. Want to join?

 **RK900-87:** Yeah, I’ll meet you there.

Nines hadn’t thought much of meeting Connor at the grocery store, but they say it’s the simple things that impact you when you’re mourning. As he walked the aisles, watching his brother plucking the best of the avocados from the stack and inspecting a head of lettuce, it occurred to him that whatever happened with the G2 aside— grocery shopping and looking up recipes for Gavin to enjoy would never happen again.

Following his distant gaze, Connor took no time to understand his thoughts. “Oh…” he began nervously, toying suddenly with the handles of the shopping basket, “I’m so sorry Nines, I wasn’t thinking…”

“It’s fine,” Nines smiled, “I didn’t think about it either. I have to work through these things though.”

Connor offered a sympathetic frown. “I know. I just sometimes forget it’s all so much more recent for you. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Nines reassured. “So, what are you making for Hank?”

“Steak and a modified wedge salad,” Connor replied, returning his attention to the lettuce, “because apparently he can’t have anything salad-like without avocados.” 

“Sounds very… Hank.” 

It all got easier as the evening progressed. Nines helped Connor cook, and let himself just enjoy the process instead of focusing on the sadness. The direction of a new normalcy… slow and steady progress. 

**Nines (🤞) 9:41pm** : Spent some time with Connor tonight. I don’t think he knows.

 **RKOG2 9:41pm** : He definitely knows.

 **Nines (🤞) 9:41pm** : What makes you so sure?

 **RKOG2 9:41pm** : I can just tell

 **Nines (🤞) 9:41pm** : I’m quite certain I’d have identified some indicators if he knew. 

**RKOG2 9:41pm** : Maybe it’s just my superior programming.

 **Nines (🤞) 9:41pm** : Pardon me?

 **RKOG2 9:41pm** : Technically, I’m the latest RK model. 

**Nines (🤞) 9:41pm** : You’re joking, right? 

**RKOG2 9:41pm** : Not even a little bit

 **Nines (🤞) 9:41pm** : [Redacted]

Nines decided to leave that well enough alone for now. Plus he was wrong, there was no way Connor knew.

**RKOG2 11:28am** : How goes your morning?

 **Nines (🤞) 11:28am** : Crazy. Dealing with a guy who’s got a bunch of land up here and claims to ‘know like the back of his hand’ but can’t seem to tell us what’s on it. 

**RKOG2 11:28am** : is he from Florida?

 **Nines (🤞) 11:28am** : Oh my God, yes, do you know something? Did 86 say something about it? 

**RKOG2 11:28am** : No, no. Just an easy guess.   
**RKOG2 11:28am** : those ones are always from Florida…

 **Nines (🤞) 11:28am** : Oh.   
**Nines (🤞) 11:28am** : Noted.   
**Nines (🤞) 11:29am** : I’ll be coming by the DPD around 3 this afternoon. Meeting with Fowler about transitioning back there. 

**RKOG2 11:30am** : Oh, awesome, ok. You ok with me being here? 

What an odd question. Nines sat in confusion for the moment before replying. 

**Nines (🤞) 11:30am** : Of course I am, why wouldn’t I be?

 **RKOG2 11:31am** : I don’t know, I guess just making sure. 

_Weird_ , Nines thought to himself.

When Nines arrived at the DPD at 2:54pm, he caught Connor’s eye from across the bullpen, the 800’s face lighting up at the sight of him. “Nines!” Connor greeted, “I didn’t know you’d be coming by today. How are you?”

“Doing well, just meeting with Fowler to discuss everything now that we’re wrapping up the 86 investigation.” 

Hank walked up, greeting Nines with a friendly slap to the shoulder, teasing, “Finally gonna be coming back to grace us with your presence, huh?”

“That’s the plan,” Nines smiled. He glanced at G2’s desk, noticing that the terminal was on but no one was there.

Connor followed his gaze, conflicted flickering across his features. There was a shift in his thoughts, and it didn’t slip past Nines. Connor attempted a convincing smile, and responded honestly, “Well, it will be wonderful to have you back.” Nines’ raised eyebrow betrayed his skepticism and Connor frowned, knowing the 900 hadn’t bought it. “I just know it’ll be an adjustment, for… both of you.”

Nines questioned, “Where is he?” 

“Smoking, if I had to guess,” Hank groused. 

Carefully, Connor asked Nines, “Have you two been talking? For a little while now?” 

“ _Son of a bitch..._ ” Nines whispered.

Taken aback, Connor’s LED flipped to yellow. “Excuse me?” 

“Sorry,” Nines shook his head, “not you. I…ugh,” he huffed. Deciding an interface would provide the fastest and most complete explanation, he held his hand out to Connor. 

Nines showed him all of it. The date he’d ruined, the apology at Kamski’s, the conversations between them — everything. 

Level headed as usual, Connor didn’t seem upset or surprised. Still, he was measured in his reply, once the interface ended. “I understand why you wanted to approach this without outside influence. I'm thrilled beyond words that you’re talking to one another at all. I just… if I can offer just a single piece of advice? I think there’s a lot more going on in his head than he wants to let on. Be gentle with him.”

Nines nodded a few times, side-eyeing that Fowler had glanced impatiently in their direction twice now. “Thank you, Connor.” They exchanged a look of understanding, and Nines headed to Fowler’s office. 

The meeting was brief. Nothing had changed with time—Nines was welcome back into the same position, pay and everything as it had been before he’d left. With a firm handshake, Fowler concluded the meeting with, “It’ll be great to have you back, Nines. You’ve been sorely missed by all of us.”

“I’m glad to be returning,” he replied, “it’s been too long.”

Exiting the Captain’s office, he could see Gavin’s desk was still unoccupied. He strode toward the courtyard, where he found the G2 in Gavin’s favorite spot… facing away from the building with smoke wafting gently from the cigarette perched between his fingers. He watched him for a moment, the new android staring off into nothing in particular. Smirking, Nines walked up behind him quietly, startling the man when he spoke, “So you’re avoiding me now?”

“Jesus, fuck,” the G2 flinched, dropping his cigarette. He shot a _whole look_ at Nines, the same look Gavin had given him countless times for similar offenses, and it was such a painfully, beautifully familiar thing. “I’m not _avoiding you_ ,” Gavin grumbled, bending to retrieve his cigarette.

“Then what are you doing?” Nines asked. 

“Just having a cigarette,” G2 shrugged, extending said cigarette outward and displaying it like it was a complicated piece of evidence. 

Nines brushed the smoke from in front of his face, earning a small triumphant grin from the other android as he brought the cigarette back to his lips. “Right,” Nines let his demeanor shift into a bit more seriousness. “Just convenient timing, I’m sure. Which doesn’t explain why you offered to leave entirely…”

Caught off guard, it was Gavin’s turn for his shoulders to drop. “I just...” he fumbled for words, “I just didn’t want… I don’t know.”

Gently but with intent, Nines pushed, “Please, tell me. Is it going to be a problem, us working together?”

“What? No! No, I don’t… I don’t think so..?”

“Then why would you need to leave?” The question was quiet, patient, and he didn’t want to rush an answer but he reminded the other man, “We agreed to be honest, and I believe this may be something you need to get off your chest?”

G2 frowned, snuffing the remnants of the cigarette into the adjacent ashtray. He was quiet for a few breaths, eyes exploring the ground, clearly struggling with what to say. “We’ve been texting. Talking. And it’s been nice, you know?” His eyes explored Nines and the area around them. “I just—” he shook his head, clamping his mouth shut.

“You can tell me,” Nines gently urged. 

Frowning still, Gavin released a large sigh, admitting finally, “Because it’s been going great, but you haven’t had to actually see me. And I was just afraid that, I don’t know… that you’d see me and be reminded of shit and resent me again or something.”

Nines just stared at him for several moments. Long enough that Gavin started to shift nervously where he stood before Nines provided, “You were worried I let myself forget who I was talking to.”

“Yeah, I guess something like that,” Gavin admitted, eyes returning to the concrete. 

Nines reached out gently, cupping the other man’s chin and lifting it. Gavin’s surprise didn’t hinder him and he allowed the motion easily, letting their eyes meet. Nines held his gaze, thumb running softly along the other man’s cheek as he whispered, “I’m quite certain I know exactly who I’m talking to.”

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made a very uncharacteristic little happy squeak when I wrote the end of this chapter ☺️


	24. Chapter 24

Fowler poked his head out of his office door, catching Connor’s attention. “I’m looking for Reed,” the captain stated, “Can you uh,” he pointed to his temple, where an android would have an LED, “text him or whatever? Tell him I want to see him in my office?”

“Yes sir, I’ll let him know right away.”

Connor could easily have sent a message to the G2, if curiosity hadn’t outweighed convenience—Blame it on his programming. Connor headed in the direction of the courtyard, where he’d seen Nines go only a few minutes prior. Peeking out the glass doorway, he stopped short at the sight of doe-eyed Gavin and Nines standing so close to one another. 

Gavin had never experienced his system lagging before. It felt frustratingly similar to speechlessness as a human. Had Nines really just said he accepted that G2 and Gavin were the same? Looking up into Nines’ eyes, hearing those words that held the possibility of everything he wanted, finally maybe being tangible… any poetic or witty reply evaded him. He eventually managed simply, “You mean it?”

Nines held his eye contact and his chin, thumb tracing the soft of his cheek. “I keep... looking for evidence that you’re a stranger and… finding nothing but familiarity.”

Gavin was sure his goofy smile was nothing short of ridiculous. He didn’t care. Other officers were walking by, some cast glances in their direction… Their proximity was probably inappropriate for the workplace. He still didn’t care. When Nines pulled his hand away from Gavin’s chin, he had to stop himself from chasing the contact. 

Nines asked, “Can I take you out tonight? On a date?” 

“Um,” it was an unexpected question, and an opportunity he wouldn’t dream of passing up. “Yeah, of course!” At the same time, Gavin sent a message to Connor, ‘ _ Quit being a stalker _ .’ Nines hadn’t seen the 800, and tilted his head at Gavin’s yellow LED. 

“I’m not  _ stalking _ you,” Connor defended, stepping out into the courtyard. “Fowler sent me to find you, and I happened to ‘find you’ in a really sweet moment,” he smiled. “You can hardly blame me for being a bit nosy. I’m more than a little invested in this too, you know.” 

“That’s actually fair,” Nines agreed, chuckling. “I just asked him on a date.”

“I’m thrilled to hear that!” Connor exclaimed. “Where are you two going?”

“Hadn't really gotten that far yet.”

Connor’s LED blipped yellow, “Here, I’m sending you both info for somewhere I took Hank a while ago.”

Scanning the reviews in a blink, “Thanks, Connor, that should work,” Nines replied, Gavin nodding in agreement.  The 900 straightened, stepping further away from Gavin quickly, professionalism replacing their tender moment in a snap.  “You should probably get to Fowler. I can meet you at the restaurant at 7?”

“I can’t wait,” Gavin breathed out in a rush. Did all androids get ‘butterflies in their stomachs’ or was his human memory of such things just replaying the sensation?

It was a testament to the powerful habit of smoking that even as an android, whenever Gavin was nervous or excited, he craved a cigarette. They weren’t anything like they had been to him as a human. He couldn’t really taste then, the nicotine did nothing for him obviously and the only actual results were warning alarms and an air analysis report. Being that he was presently a ball of nervous excitement though, it was no surprise he found himself on Eli’s dock before going into the house. 

His brother had repeatedly bitched about how nasty it was to clean the residue out of an android, so Gavin had come to the only logical conclusion when he wanted to smoke: Hide. He sat at the edge of Eli’s dock, casting glances toward the house to ensure no one was watching, turning away before taking each drag of the cigarette. “Like I’m back in fuckin’ high school,” he muttered to himself. This was his third today, having grabbed a new pack after leaving work. 

He stared out into the grey expanse, watching a boat in the distance while he rhythmically tapped fleeting ripples into the chilly water with the bottoms of his shoes. He glanced at the house, saw no one, and brought the stick to his lips. 

It was hard for him to believe that after all of the months of worry and depression, they were going on a date. Like, an actual date, date. His nervousness about saying or doing the wrong thing kept his explosive glee in check. 

He squished the smouldering contents of the cigarette out into the water, pitching the butt into the trash cans by the garage. When Gavin made it into the house, the sound of Elijah laughing loudly as Chloe chastised him caught his attention and he meandered toward the ruckus, finding them both in the pool.

“What’d you do this time?” he teased his brother with a smirk while flopping onto the adjacent bench. 

“Chloe says I shouldn’t give you shit about smoking on my pier,” Eli grinned, ducking the splash of water he’d known would be coming at him. 

Gavin puffed up defensively, drawing an inhale to speak before deciding there was no direction he could take an argument, and let the breath (and the argument) leave in a gutteral huff. “Sorry,” he submitted.

“It’s fine, Gavin,” Chloe reassured.

“Pff...It’s a terrible habit and I’ve been telling him that since fucking high school,” Elijah defended, equally serious and playful, sending a palmful of water splashing toward Gavin, “You’re lucky something honorable killed you before you got lung cancer.” 

Gavin rolled his eyes. “You still would’ve brought me back as an android.”

“Yeah, but I would’ve made sure your vision cut off for 10 minutes or something every time you puffed a cigarette.” Elijah’s eyes lit up with the idea and he turned to Chloe, ignoring her suspiciously serious death-stare, declaring, “Ooh, I should totally do that!”

Gavin scoffed, laying down on the bench, “Can you make sure I go deaf too, so I don’t have to listen to your bullshit?” 

“ _ Ok you two,” _ Chloe cut in, giving them  _ both _ the death-stare. 

Elijah sent a small splash back at her, smirking, “It’s just what brothers do.”

“Yeah. It’s how we show our love,” Gavin agreed.

Looking unimpressed but very used to their exchanges by this point, she gave her own exasperated eye roll and concluded, “You’re both nuts.” Neither brother disagreed. Chloe swam near Gavin, crossing her elegant arms along the edge of the pool. “This all started over us wondering what was stressing you. What’s on your mind?”

Gavin rolled his head toward her and smiled. He considered telling them what Nines had said at work today, it was the only thing on his mind, after all. He wasn’t sure if he was ready to confront the entirety of that conversation though and, if he was being honest, a small part of him was still terrified that Nines would change his mind. That something would happen or maybe he’d even misunderstood.  The 900’s sudden distance at the end of their talk today had been odd, too.  Gavin was afraid to get his hopes up. For now, progress would be enough. “We’re going on a date tonight.”

Chloe didn’t even try to contain her immediate excitement, confirming, “You and Nines?”

“Mhm,” Gavin nodded with a cautious smile.

She made that perfect little happy joy squeak, bringing her hands to her mouth. Elijah joined her at the edge, hopeful smile echoing her sentiment. “That’s awesome!” he agreed, “So I take it things have been going well?”

“I think so. It’s not been anything too deep or anything, just shooting the shit. I hadn't seen him since that day after he showed up here, it’s all just been messaging back and forth since we’ve both been working so much.” Gavin toyed idly with his fingernails, betraying some of his nerves. “Guess he got word today that he’s gonna be coming back to the DPD though, so we saw each other today, and he asked me out!”

“That’s so exciting,” Chloe beamed.

Gavin cautioned, “I mean it’s nothing guaranteed yet. Who knows what’ll happen.” He glanced back and forth between them, his little smile broadening a bit, “I’m hopeful though,” he admitted sheepishly. 

*****  
  


It wasn’t a thing Nines had discussed with Connor or anyone else. He tried to simply ignore it, sweep it under a rug. A memory would appear, playing without permission, and sometimes leave him reeling. He was able to shut them down quickly, he had it all under control. 

When Nines had fought 86 in that abandoned warehouse, the memories the other 900 had used against him—reminders of what he’d done to Gavin— 86 didn’t simply  _ show _ him a video clip. He shared the  _ entire experience _ : sights, sounds, actions and sensations, and implanted the events as though the memories had originated from Nines’ own perspective. 

Flashbacks that belonged to him, that he hadn’t made. They’d pulled him out of stasis before, the emotions so strong his systems were reaching critical temperatures before he was able to regain control. 

And then without warning, they’d morphed for the worse.

When G2 had hugged him tightly in the apartment that other night—when that sensation had triggered arousal for the first time in so many months. Instead of a memory, his systems had offered a preconstruction. A very unpleasant one, from the twisted mind of Nines’ evil twin.

These preconstructions were suggestions of sorts, of things Nines himself would never do. All of them directed at the G2. In the DPD courtyard today, when a uniformed cop had passed by, the program offered the speed at which he’d need to grab the cop’s gun and level it to the android’s chest. He felt, in detail, the weight of the gun and saw the other man’s expression through the crosshairs. The same disbelieving hurt Gavin had given 86, of course. It had shocked him, leaving him shaken much of the afternoon. 

And now, as the G2 situated himself into the booth seat across from him, another preconstruction offered Nines the exact pressure and angle he’d need to grab his date by the throat in order to force him against the nearby wall. Nines sucked a surprised breath, clenching his right hand into a tight fist as the program ghosted the sensation of the contact across the inside of his hand. 

They were getting worse, or more frequent at least, the closer he got to the G2, the more frequently he saw him. Luckily, the other android hadn’t noticed. Nines encapsulated the file for the fifth time and kicked it to the bottom of a secured file. Again. 

Carlson’s was one of the nicest places on this side of the city, and by default, even the android options were high class. The place stayed busy, even this Wednesday evening was no different. 

Gavin fidgeted with the ornate thirium cocktail soon after it was set in front of him. It had a frothy top and a translucent blue wafer thing, like the fancy candy glass pieces they put on top of expensive ice cream creations. They had so many important things to discuss. So much to catch up on. Work was the easier icebreaker. “So Fowler said you’d be starting back at the DPD soon?”

“A week or two at most I’d think. Looking forward to returning to normalcy… first step toward it at least.” Nines offered a small smile. “Is that what Fowler wanted to meet with you about?”

“Yeah, he wanted to make sure I knew. I didn’t tell him you and me were talking or anything of course, I just let him know I was ok with all of it. Lord knows we need the manpower. It’s been rough catching up.”

“I’m sure. I appreciate him being thorough. Hey, that reminds me—I studied up on some of what I’ve missed while I’ve been gone, and I read the files from the Dixon arrest. That was good work.”

“Yeah… it was a ton of work.” Gavin laughed, ”I was so glad to finally put that fucker behind bars. Connor and Hank really stepped in to help with everything, I couldn’t have done it without them. And you, of course.”

“I saw the news segments too. They did a great job with the interviews and such, I was very proud.” 

Gavin blushed at the compliment, his smile faltering when he realized Nines hadn’t said ‘I was proud of  _ you _ .’ He tried not to read too far into it or let his disappointment show. “I wish you could’ve been there. You deserved as much credit as the rest of us.” 

“I don’t care about the credit. I wish I’d have been there for every other reason though.”

“You’ll be there for the next one,” Gavin smiled. “You, uh, make any friends at the FBI? Anything you’ll miss?”

Nines toyed with the light blue froth on his identical drink. “Not really, honestly. There’s some good people there... I like my director a lot. I wouldn’t consider any of them ‘friends’ though, just a bunch of people that worked together to accomplish a job.”

“Fair enough.” Gavin could tell there was something Nines wanted to say. They were finally sitting down on an actual date...Why did this feel so awkward? Gavin’s concerns didn’t go unnoticed. 

“Everything ok?” Nines asked. 

The place was stuck up and stuffy. Despite the low lighting and the booth partitions, it didn’t invite the type of privacy they needed. “Yeah, everything’s fine.” He tapped the froth with his straw, “it’s impressive as fuck what they can do with a single ingredient,” he laughed, trying to ease any tension.

“It's… not exactly the right kind of environment, is it?” Nines sighed, “ _ Is _ there a right type of environment, in fairness?”

“This place is beautiful,” the G2 praised, “And I wish I could steal that guy’s lobster over there—“ Nines followed his gaze to the lobster and snickered under his breath. “No, for real,” Gavin’s expression was definitely not entirely joking, “I can’t even tell you how badly I want to grab it and run.” He paused, eyes still locked on the food and Nines wondered for a split second if the other android was actually going to make a run for the crustacean, before he continued, “I just don’t feel like either of us is being…  _ us _ ...here.”

“I agree,” Nines stated honestly, watching a wave of relief loosen the G2’s shoulders, realizing his had done the same. “Would you rather go somewhere else?”

Gavin replied, “We could’ve gone for a walk through the shittiest parts of the city and I’d have been just as happy.” 

“Is that what you’d rather do?”

Gavin bobbed his head back and forth, weighing the options. “Maybe just… for a walk anywhere? Or a drive, even?”

“Ok,” Nines answered, more easily than Gavin expected. 

“Really?”

“Of course.”

Gavin slammed the rest of his drink back in one go, wiping froth from the tip of his nose. He grasped the candy wafer thing between his teeth while gathering his jacket. “Waiting on you.”

Jeep seats are not comfortable. And yet, sliding into the leather seats of Gavin’s old ride felt like pulling on a perfectly fitted warm glove. Nines’ hand ran along the armrest, silently reminiscing in the familiar texture while G2 situated himself in the driver’s seat, securing his seatbelt before facing Nines and asking, “Where to?”

“Anywhere,” Nines replied, sinking into the seat, “or nowhere. I don’t really care.”

“Works for me,” Gavin replied as he pulled out of the parking lot. 

The purr of the tires against the road was a sound he’d forgotten and Nines chuckled, “It’s funny,” he began as he lay his head back against the headrest, enjoying the soothing humm. “I hadn’t realized how much I missed this ride.”

“Yeah? Guess it has been a while since you’ve been in this thing...”

“October twelfth will be eight months,” Nines provided, trying hard not to focus on how long that really was. His brows furrowed suddenly, head shooting up. “Wait… today is October fifth.”

“...Yeah?” 

“Friday is October seventh, and that’s…” Nines stared at the other robot, brows in a stressed furrow, at a loss for words. With everything going on, and having wiped all calendar reminders pertaining to Gavin months ago, he was mortified to realize he’d forgotten. He didn’t need to provide an explanation.

“Oh yeah, no... it’s fine,” the G2 shrugged. “Birthdays are dumb anyway.”

It was the first wholly un-Gavin-like thing Nines had heard the android say. Gavin wouldn’t easily admit it publicly, but he loved his birthday and the dismissal of it had Nines’ processor whirring with questions. Was it a preference that had changed? Would the G2 rather acknowledge the date  _ he _ was awoken as his birthday? Would he not view and celebrate Gavin’s birthday as his own? It strengthened a thing Nines was hoping to put behind him: Doubt. He worried his lip, torn about how to respond.

The G2 interrupted his train of thought. “Let’s not do that right now. It’s just some day that doesn’t really matter, we can worry about that later,” he smiled toward Nines, his yellow LED betraying his own stress level.

The Jeep fell silent, too much on both of their minds as several blocks passed by. “We can’t keep doing that,” Nines spoke softly. “We have to talk about these things. Going on like nothing happened isn’t healthy for either of us.”

Gavin’s stiff thumb tapped the steering wheel as he stared forward out the windshield, “I know. And I agree.” He drove a few more miles, into the heart of the city, before he pulled into a parking garage. He spiraled up the levels, ignoring Nines’ confused but trusting occasional glances. Gavin parked at the very top, where the lot was uncovered and mostly empty other than a couple of long term parked cars, facing the city skyline around them. “I know we have a list of shit to talk about, but there’s one thing that’s been weighing on my mind for, like, years…”

“Elijah?” 

Gavin nodded. “Yeah. Neither of you deserved the way I handled that.”

Gently, but with honesty, Nines admitted, “I definitely can’t deny how much it hurt to find out that way.”

“I know, and I’m sorry.”

“I researched and couldn’t find anything at all… none of it made sense. Still doesn’t.”

“I paid a bunch of money for someone to bury it. To go back to our childhood records and everything, to erase every digital file or link that could connect us. I did Eli so wrong, Nines,” he shook his head in shame, “I completely ghosted him.”

“But why? And why never tell me about it?”

“Insecurity? I don’t fucking know. We have the same dad, and our dad was a dick. Eli was always the golden child, always ‘the one going places’. And I was... always the fuck up. Don’t get me wrong, dad wasn’t nice to either one of us... I was an accidental kid though, ‘the punishment,’ he called me, for having an affair on Eli’s mom. So I was just a reminder of his mistakes.”

“That’s horrible.”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t Eli’s fault. We were always close. He always had my back against dad and I always had his against the rest of the world. Best as a couple of kids could, anyway.” He paused, staring out at the city lights. “None of it was his fault. He was a good brother. I just… I always felt like I was in his shadow though, you know? It was just always like that. And then…” he sighed deeply, “Eli started to get even more attention. Even when we were still kids in school. It was always just all about him. It got worse the more famous he got. His parents paraded him around like their golden goose and I…” 

Gavin rubbed the back of his neck, looking down toward the floorboard. “They forgot me once,” he laughed dryly, “Eli was showing at this big convention and they were running late. We were all getting the truck packed up and I went inside to get my bag. When I came out, the truck was gone. They got 15 minutes down the road before they even called. Dad said,”—Gavin mocked a deep, grumpy voice— “‘We can’t waste the time to come back for you. There’s food in the fridge,’ and I could hear Eli crying in the background, but it’s not like he could do anything about it. So I just… spent four days alone in the house. I was eleven.”

He turned to look at Nines, finding pained horror written all over the 900’s face. Gavin quirked a humorless smile. “So that was my childhood.”

“I don’t even know what to say,” Nines shook his head, “I’m so sorry.”

“I just learned to deal with it. I never blamed any of it on Eli. I missed him when we’d be apart, and when I was gone for a few months.”

“Gone?”

Gavin lightly ground his teeth back and forth. “When I was sixteen, some chick from my high school snuck a picture of me making out with a guy from our class. She was a bitch and she thought it’d be funny to post it online and tag us both… I hadn’t told anyone in my family about being into guys, I think I was still figuring shit out myself. My dad caught wind of the post.” He hesitated, reflecting on the memory, “He said a bunch of horrible shit and punched me. Broke my nose.” He rubbed at the scar adorning the bridge of his nose. ”I punched him back and ran away.”

Nines stayed quiet and attentive, letting G2 relay things he’d never even thought to ask Gavin. A history of pain that explained so much.

“Anyway,” Gavin continued, “That's all kinda background stuff. Fast forward… I had some bad relationship experiences because I was Eli’s brother, people just using me to get closer to him, people who made me feel like I was a waste of their time. I sucked it up, I tried not to let it get to me.” 

“Those aren’t things anyone could just brush off.”

Gavin shrugged. “I did a pretty good job of it until I went to sign up for the academy. The chick who took my application started comparing me to Eli right away and it was like the bottom fell out. I flipped my shit. All I ever wanted was to be a cop, and I felt all of the sudden like it wouldn’t even matter. Like no matter what good things I did, I’d always just be ‘Elijah Kamski’s brother.’ … I cut ties cold turkey and just hid what a piece of shit I felt like. From him, from you, from everyone.”

“I would’ve understood all of that. It wouldn’t have changed a single thing I thought or felt.”

“You have no idea how many times I told myself that. But I just kept sweeping it under the rug, and it’s not like it’s the kind of thing to just ‘come up’ out of nowhere. It just got harder to approach the longer we were together, and I was terrified of losing you.”

Nines exhaled softly. “Thank you, for telling me. Nothing I can say or do now will change decisions made years ago. I can’t imagine shouldering all that stress alone, and I’m sorry I never even knew to ask about it.” He studied the skyline. It really was beautiful up here. “I owe Kamski an apology.”

Gavin tilted his head. “For what?”

“I’ve been quite rude to him.”

“You can’t have seen him more than a few times with case shit, right? It’s not like y’all have had an opportunity to really talk or anything. He probably just assumed you were all business… I wouldn’t call it rude.”

“Ehh, we had an opportunity to talk, and I was definitely rude. He asked me to meet with him, when I was still refusing to even see you.”

“Oh… I didn’t know about that.”

“He probably didn’t want to stress you with it, if I had to guess. In case it didn’t go well.”

“So did it… not go well?”

Nines laughed. “Ehh…. He came more prepared than I did. He’s no fool, that’s for sure.”

“What did he want?” Silence fell over the Jeep while Nines recalled the meeting, and Gavin grew concerned. “Unless it’s a thing you don’t want to talk about it? Or like, agreed not to or whatever?”

“No, no, nothing like that. I’m just embarrassed about it all still. I was burying my head in the sand. And he called me out on it. I was angry and depressed, but he was right.”

“He doesn’t hold back, that’s for sure,” Gavin chuckled in agreement. “He’s a good brother though, and a good man. I hate that I hurt him and jeopardized your impression of him.”

“I’m sure it’ll all be fine. I’ll apologize and I’m sure we can work it out.” Nines reached to take Gavin’s hand in his. “I owe him more than I can possibly repay.”

Gavin hadn’t expected the contact and he locked eyes with Nines, getting lost in the blue depths immediately. The moment the 900’s hand enveloped his, the synthskin of Gavin’s hand deactivated around the contact. He was too lost in the moment to realize it, until Nines glanced at their hands and his brows raised in surprise. Gavin jolted seeing his own chassis and yanked his hand back from the hold, returning the skin tone facade and rubbing the surface with his other hand like it’d been injured. “Sorry,” he quickly muttered. 

“What are you sorry for?” Nines again reached for the hand, pressing through the reluctance until he was again cupping it gently in his own. The skin did not retract this time, an intentional effort on the G2s part.

Nines blinked away a preconstruction to hurt the man once again, frustrated at the wedge it was trying to drive between him and what he was desperately trying to repair.

Gavin frowned, nervous and concentrating on his system’s reaction to the contact. “You looked surprised. I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

Nines spoke softly, running his thumb along the palm of the other android, “It's ok, let the skin deactivate again.”

Hesitantly, Gavin watched Nines’ expression closely while permitting his synthskin to dissipate around their contact. Extending toward his wrist, the fleshy skin tone gave way to sleek obsidian—faint blue lines running between the black paneling of his chassis.

“I wasn’t surprised to see a chassis,” Nines provided, “I was surprised to see a black chassis. I’ve never seen one before.” He examined the hand, turning it over within his own, studying the details. “It’s beautiful.”

“Guess it’s something Eli had been working on in his own time for a while. A bunch of me is Kevlar,” he rapped the knuckles of his free hand against his own chest, “bulletproof wherever it counts. A bunch more is carbon fiber so it’s still strong, but keeps the weight down.”

“That’s… incredible,” Nines admitted. 

Smirking playfully, Gavin joked, “Told you I was the more advanced model.” When Nines rolled his eyes, an overwhelming desire to kiss the 900 gripped Gavin. Nines was still holding his hand, but he craved more closeness. He took a long, quiet sigh. Nines was coming around at a snail’s pace, but was still sometimes distant. Gavin didn’t want to force him, it wasn’t the right time yet. He slotted his fingers between the 900’s, giving an affectionate squeeze.

Nines deactivated his own synthskin, letting his white chassis rest against Gavin’s dark, and they both simply stared at the juncture for several beats. Their faint blue glow illuminated the otherwise dark space.

Not wanting to assume anything, Nines asked, “Have you experienced an interface yet?” Gavin shook his head, hair rustling against the headrest of the Jeep. “Would you like to?” It wasn’t a push or a judgement either way. Nines understood the action was a completely foreign and likely scary concept for someone who had previously been a human. 

Gavin chewed his lip, brows furrowed while he considered it. He wanted to. Badly. He’d been looking forward to it since before he’d even died. Like the kiss though, it just didn’t _feel_ _right_ yet. He frowned, hoping Nines wouldn’t be upset with his answer. “I don’t think… not yet, if that’s ok?”

“Of course it’s ok,” Nines squeezed his hand, “Whenever you’re ready, or even if you never are… that’s ok.”

*****

  
Driving away from the restaurant after they’d bid each other a good night, Nines mentally kicked himself. He’d given the G2 only a chaste, unsatisfying kiss on the cheek at the end of their date, and was sure the other android was holding it against him. He had every reason to anyway, even if he hadn’t given any signs indicating such.

Nines had been home alone for months now but for some reason, closing and locking the door behind himself tonight felt lonely. He was still being ridiculous. moving too slow, taking too long. Every wire and byte within Nines shouted,  _ ‘It’s HIM! This is YOUR Gavin! _ ’ He  _ wanted _ to grab him, pull him close and never let go. 

His head fell to rest against the closed door. “What the hell is stopping me?!” he groaned aloud to himself. 

“The door, from the looks of it,” Hank’s voice replied, yanking Nines out of his self-loathing. He whirled around, bewildered, to find Connor and Hank on the couch sharing a giant blanket and watching a movie. Hank’s couch. Hank’s house. He’d driven to the wrong address.

“Did I really….???” 

Hank replied, “Interrupt a classic? Yes. It's at a slow part though, so it’s ok.”

Concern evident in his voice and his LED, Connor asked, “Is everything ok?” 

Nines groaned a guttural, “Ughh,” running his hand down his face. “I meant to drive to the apartment. I must’ve sent the car the wrong address and wasn’t even paying attention, I’m so sorry guys.” 

“It’s fine,” Hank shrugged. “Wanna watch Nightmare on Elm Street with us? It’s October, horror movies are what we do.”

“I’m pretty sure if he’s that distracted he needs to talk, not watch a movie,” Connor chastised, still concerned as he asked Nines, “Did the date not go well? It’s been killing me all evening not to message you and ask.” 

Hank turned the tv off, resolving that the movie could wait. 

“It’s fine,” Nines shook his head, ”I don’t want to interrupt.”

“Come sit down,” Hank bid, scooting over to make room. It wasn’t a request. 

Nines acquiesced, groaning again as he took a seat, running his fingernails up either side of his head in frustration. 

Connor gave him a moment to decompress before asking, “What happened?”

“Nothing  _ bad _ . We talked about some things. He shed light on everything with Kamski… childhood and some stuff with their dad… things Gavin had been shouldering for years. Some other stuff too. It went well enough, I guess, for neither of us wanting to dump too much all at once I think.”

“So why are you so stressed?”

He mulled over the best way to articulate it. He could interface with Connor, but it wouldn’t help either of them explain it to Hank. “I’m keeping him at arms length and I don’t know why.” 

“Arm’s length? You looked pretty close this morning…”

Nines rolled his eyes at himself more than Connor. “I touched his face this morning and tonight we held hands for a bit. That’s great and all, but it’s not enough, and I  _ want _ more… but..” the words fell off, unsure of how to explain what he was feeling.

“Hmm,” Connor hummed, “Are you still having trouble accepting G2 and Gavin as essentially the same person?”

“I don’t think so. Everything the G2 does is _Gavin_. Undeniably. It’s like I have this wall up though, like some ghost coding is blocking me from treating him _like_ Gavin or even calling him that. I never say his name. I can’t even say ‘you’ when I’m referencing something Gavin did in the past. ...And I know he’s noticed. It has to hurt him so much and I don’t want to hurt him. It’s the last thing I want to do. I just… I don’t know what’s _wrong_ _with_ _me_.”

Hooking onto the coding mention, Connor asked, “Do you think it could actually be that? Something someone wrote, or even something you created unintentionally?”

“No, I’ve checked,” Nines admitted. “You can check too if you’d like, but I don’t think that’s it.”

Connor questioned, “Could you be afraid of losing him again?” 

Nines thought that over... It had occurred to him before. Sumo must’ve realized he was there all of the sudden, and began scratching at the back door to come in. The giant dog sauntered happily toward him when Hank gave in to the scratching and let him in. Nines’ hand ran absently across Sumos back as he reflected on the question. “I suppose that could have something to do with it. I’d steeled myself to his death, and you both know it's been no easy task to convince myself that he’s even still here. I guess not wanting to go through that again could make sense.”

Hank shooed Sumo away enough that he could return to his seat. Retrieving his bowl of popcorn from the coffee table, the human asked, “Want to know what I think it is?” Both androids turned their attention to him. Mouthing around a few puffs of popcorn, Hank stated flatly, “You don’t think you deserve ‘em.”

Connor withdrew, brows furrowing. “That’s absurd.”

“To you maybe,” Hank corrected, “But it’s different when you hold yourself responsible for someone’s death. If some miracle brought that person back from the dead, I’d imagine you’d have a tough time convincing yourself that  _ you _ , the person you blame for their death, deserves to have them back.”

Nines stared at Hank in blank silence. Connor began to object— to disagree and defend Nines. “No,” Nines interrupted, turning to Connor. “He’s absolutely correct. And it makes perfect sense. I mean, if you fail at a job once, what gives you the right to reapply for the same position?” Nines ran his fingers through his hair, processing the revelation. “So should I just leave him alone then? Stop toying with either of our emotions and accept that I’m not the right person for him?” The thought of actually doing so upset him more deeply than he would’ve guessed. His stress level soared. 

A resounding,  _ “No _ !” came simultaneously from both Connor and Hank. 

“Remember that shit I said about forgiving yourself?” Hank asked, “It applies here. Nothing that happened to Gavin was your fault, that bastard loves you beyond comprehension, and there’s not a soul on earth he’d rather be with than you.”

“YOU didn’t kill Gavin. Or me, or anyone else,” Connor echoed. “None of what 86 did was your fault.”

Closing his eyes and deepening his breathing to cool his systems, Nines forced himself to calm down. “That’s so easy to say,” Nines argued, “it's not that simple though. The facts are that if I hadn’t gone to help the FBI, if I hadn’t been captured, if I’d been able to hide how much he meant to me… Gavin would be fine. 

Worse,  there’s this thing that keeps occurring, and it’s driving me mad. Remember  that 86 shared with me the  _ entire _ files of exactly what he did to Gavin.  Well it’s acting almost like a virus, custom made for me and  I see, hear and feel the actions from the perspective of an identical RK900, as though it was me carrying out the actions. My preconstruction software  has even started playing  tricks on me—I look at the G2 and I begin to  _ see and feel myself _ bringing a gun to his chest… and other horrible actions.”

Connor looked approximately concerned. “Are you worried that you’ll actually injure him?”

“No, not at all,” Nines shook his head. “I can easily tell the preconstruction from my own actions and they don’t control me. It’s a shock to my heart though, more than anything. Seeing reminders of what Gavin went through.”

Like it was the simplest solution in the world, Connor shrugged, “Delete the memory files. Why would you even still have them?”

“I… The case, I guess? It’s evidence...” His answer hardly sounded convincing even to himself. 

Hank wasn’t the least bit convinced. “Quit holding onto shit just so you can punish yourself with it.”

Nines just breathed, long and deep, staring into Hank’s living room. Sumo gave up on receiving more affection and flopped onto his dog bed in the corner. “You’re right. You’re both right.” He thought in silence for a moment. It’s not like he’d forget anything that had happened, he just wouldn’t be able to stand in the shoes of the man who’d caused all of this and  _ feel _ himself doing it instead. “Connor are you willing to take these files and isolate them somewhere, just in case, until the investigation is completely closed?  I’m confident that as an RK800, they won’t affect you. Though, I would  ask for the sake of Gavin’s privacy that you not watch them, please.”

“Of course.”

Extracting everything he had from 86’s perspective, Nines interfaced with Connor, and sent it all. With a hesitant exhale through his nose, he completely eradicated his system from the images and sensations that had haunted him for months. 

He spent a while longer with Hank and Connor before heading to the correct address. He kept checking, often, for the nightmare file to be present. With every moment that passed, and every time the file wasn’t there to provide the first hand accounts of the horrible things 86 had done to his boyfriend, the relief slowly, steadily, unbound the right wires of stress in his gut. 

  
  


**Nines (🤞) 12:03am** : I did something important tonight after our date, something I think will help me. 

**RKOG2 12:03am** : Oh yeah?

**Nines (🤞) 12:03am** : Yeah, I’ll tell you about it next time we meet up. Speaking of which, when can I see you again?

**RKOG2 12:03am** : Can’t wait to hear it. Umm… I work a double tomorrow and I think Eli has something planned for Friday. Probably this weekend though? I’m off for once lol

**Nines (🤞) 12:03am** : Perfect, I’m looking forward to it.


	25. Chapter 25

Narrow streams of rain snaked down the glass outside Gavin’s bedroom window, obscuring the view. He could see all he needed to see when he came out of stasis though: a grey, gloomy day. A better view greeted him up close thankfully, a curious furry paw swatting at his eyelashes and nose. 

“Morning, North,” he smiled at the kitten, reaching up to give her some obligatory morning pets. Her little head pushed up into his hand, relishing in the affection and wanting more. “One of those moods today, huh girl?” She was often perched on top of him, but how much actual attention she wanted varied. “I get that way on rainy days too sometimes.” He appeased the kitten, lying in bed for a few additional minutes to scratch the bundle of loudly purring fur.

He’d worked a double yesterday, hardly having a free moment all day. Which was good, since it had given him something to focus on. Something other than his “life”. He was off work today however, and hadn’t set an alert to wake from stasis. He found that unlike most androids apparently, he was able to come in and out of stasis on something akin to a normal human sleep cycle. The room was still dim thanks to the dark grey clouds outside, but it was close to 10am already. 

North yawned, stretching and sitting herself upright, ready for her busy day full of absolutely nothing. Gavin could relate. “Same mood, cat. Not today though, got stuff to do.”

Following the enthusiastic kitten down the steps, he sauntered his way into the living room. Chloe looked up from a book she was reading, giving him a bright smile. “Good morning Gavin, and happy birthday!” She stood up to greet him, wrapping him in a tight hug. 

“Thanks, Chloe, good morning to you too. Where’s Eli?”

“In the lab still I think… on the phone.”

“Gotcha.” He flopped onto the adjacent couch, turning on the tv and keeping the volume low so it wouldn’t distract Chloe’s reading once she settled back into it. He nodded toward the book in her hand, “So why do you read actual books, anyway? Can’t you just download and read them in like .2 seconds?”

“Same reason you flipped on the tv, mostly,” she teased. “Passes the time better, and some of the best ones weren’t ever made for digital download. This is a slightly older one, written in the early 2020’s by an author before she was famous, so it was never released digitally. It’s excellent, though.” 

“Fair enough,” Gavin replied. “What’s it about?” 

“This whole imaginary world with dragons and people who ride them.”

“Sounds cool.”

“It is,” she nodded, “I’ll let you borrow it when I finish.”

Elijah stepped into the room, tying his hair back as he walked. “Sorry about that, had a work call.” He walked up behind Gavin, ruffling his still-tousled bed head. “Happy birthday, bro!”

“Thanks!” Gavin replied, smiling as he playfully shoved his brother's hand off of his head. “What’ya get me?”

“Pshh… The fucking fountain of youth. What more do you want?”

Gavin pondered on the question for a moment. “The ability to eat a steak?”

“No-can-do, sorry.”

Gavin’s brow furrowed. “You’ll fix that whenever you go to turn yourself into an android, trust me.”

“Maybe,” Eli chuckled, “I’m still just waiting to see what major bugs arise from my latest prototype before going into further testing.” 

“Rude,” Gavin replied. “I knew I was just a convenient test subject.”

“Indeed.” Eli beamed Gavin in the face with a pillow as soon as he turned his head toward theTV. “Reaction time clearly needs work.” Gavin snorted a laugh. 

Chloe’s eye roll at their exchanges could probably be sensed by the neighbors at this point. The morning news spewed the usual gloom, crooked politicians and drama du jour. Both brothers watched the TV for a few minutes before Gavin blurted out, “Do you think you’ll do it? Turn yourself into an android at some point?”

“All joking aside, I don’t know,” Eli replied. “I mean, I didn’t care about the societal repercussions, legal boundaries et cetera when we were trying to save you. It’s a loaded subject though, if we’re acknowledging that turning a human into an android is a thing we can actually successfully do. Trust me, I think about it all the time.” 

“I’m sure. Can you imagine how much money you’d make if people knew you could do this?”

“I _can_ ,” Eli smirked, letting a pause hang heavily in the air. “I don’t know whether that’s a direction I’m willing to go in or not yet though.”

“People would be begging and bribing you from every corner of the globe.”

“Mhmm,” Eli agreed.

“You’d be like… the literal source of an afterlife.”

Eli nodded, raising a brow, “Indeed…”

Gavin whispered sarcastically, “Bless us, oh lord and savior Elijah Kamski.”

It earned a _look_ from Chloe. “Don’t encourage him, please,” she scolded. 

Gavin snickered to himself quietly, returning his attention to the TV. A minute passed before Eli pointed out, “He’s not wrong, though.” Neither android took his bait, other than an amused chuff from Gavin. 

Resigning that the subject was dead, Elijah walked over to his desk where he retrieved a small box about the size of a pencil case, wrapped in bright blue paper and a white ribbon. He extended it to Gavin, taking a seat next to him on the couch. Gavin eyed it hesitantly. “You know I was just kidding about the birthday gift, right? I didn’t actually expect you to get me anything.”

“It’s your birthday and you’re my brother. Of course I got you a gift.”

“I didn’t get you anything for your birthday…”

“You were dead for my birthday.”

Gavin couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of that sentence, and that Eli hadn’t clarified whether the death was a valid excuse, or that death had been the gift. He didn’t ask. “Guess that means I just owe you a birthday present, huh?”

Eli shrugged, “If you insist. Makes no difference right now though— _Today_ is _your_ birthday, and my arm is getting tired. Take this thing.” 

Turning the small box over in his hands, Gavin studied the fancy wrapper for only a moment before ripping it off, revealing an unmarked blacked box. He cast a glance to Elijah before opening the lid. He tilted his head, amused quirk on his lips, “Is this a vape kit?”

“Of sorts, yes, but not like anything you’ve seen before. Give it a try.” 

“Like, smoke it here, in the house?”

“Yup.”

Gavin perched the cigarette-sized cylinder between his fingers, bringing it to his lips and taking a shallow drag of it. A dim red light glowed at the end during his inhale. He let it settle in his system before exhaling narrow puffs of “smoke” out his nose. “Woah…” he exclaimed, examining the cylinder closer. “What’s in this thing?”

“Modified thirium, basically. The vapor interacts with your synthetic nerves to give you the same sensation of smoke, tells your system to lower its stress level a unit or two, and expels nothing but some vaporized thirium. Plus no more ‘poor air quality’ alert I’m sure you get every time you smoke an actual cigarette.”

“That’s fucking incredible,” Gavin admitted. He unscrewed part of the cylinder where there was an obvious place to do so, seeing where it could be refilled with thirium. “How do I charge it?”

“Disable the synthskin in the palm of your hand.” As soon as Gavin did so, the light at the end glowed a dim green. “It charges itself from you.”

“Holy shit, Eli, that’s cool as fuck. Did you make this thing?”

“Nope, Chloe found it online, made by an engineer in Germany. They claimed it was the closest experience an android could get to an actual cigarette, without the residue, risk or bad smell.”

Gavin took another deep drag of the cylinder, studying the sensation. It was unquestionably better than a cigarette now, and maybe even better than smoking had been as a human. “This really is awesome, thank you both!”

“You’re welcome,” Chloe replied, “it seemed like a win-win for everyone.”

“Happy birthday,” Eli said, ruffling his hair again, “glad you like it. Did you want to go out or anything to celebrate?”

“Maybe a little later? I’ve got a few things to do this afternoon.”

“Sounds good. Just let me know what you’re thinking.” Elijah glanced out the window over his shoulder, “Looks like the rain is gonna stick around a while.”

“Yep. Lucky me. Anyway yeah, I’ll let you know. I’m gonna go shower and run some errands.” He stood to head back up to get ready for the day. “Thanks again guys!”

North followed Gavin back up the stairs, satisfied from the bowl of kitten food she’d emptied in the kitchen while the rest of them had been talking. She dashed under the bed, stalking his feet every time he passed too close. 

Riffling through his closet, Gavin surveyed the options for his attire. Elijah had retrieved most of his clothes from the apartment forever ago, and in typical Eli style, had evidently found some of Gavin’s wardrobe lacking. A few suits had conveniently made their way into his otherwise work and casual-centric collection. He eyed the light blue button-up shirt, laying it atop a solid charcoal suit jacket. A rich blue silk tie rounded the look out nicely. 

He stripped, fighting North briefly over a sock her little claws had claimed ownership of from under the bed. Fresh towel in hand, he set the shower temperature just right and brushed his teeth. 

Once finished at the sink, he stood naked in front of the large mirror in the bathroom. He stared at himself, expressionless, eyes roaming over the scars, muscle and ink that had been so expertly replicated, until condensation from the warm shower began to soften the edges of his reflection. He really did need to find a way to thank Eli for everything he’d done for him. 

The water was a perfect 108 degrees and washed over him like a blanket. Translucent green body wash that supposedly smelled like pine forest dribbled down his arm as he worked it into a froth on the loofah. Factually, androids needed less frequent cleaning everywhere that was protected from the elements by clothing, but Gavin thoroughly scrubbed every surface and crevasse out of habit, unfazed by the fact that he no longer had sweat glands or body oils. 

Satisfied with his scrubbing, he stood under the shower head and let the heat pelt the top of his head, water cascading down the rest of him and removing the remnants of soap with it. 

Synthetic hair dried slower than human hair, so once out of the shower, he toweled off vigorously and left his hair to air-dry the rest of the way on its own, running his fingers through it to roughly situate it where he wanted it.

Not surprisingly, the button-up and suit fit him perfectly. He looked up the manufacturer on the tag and would have choked at the price of the thing, if he’d had the capability to do so. He didn’t bother looking up the price tag of the shiny black shoes, not wanting to feel even more guilty if he accidentally scuffed them. Eli cut no corners. And Gavin had to admit, as he walked back into the bathroom to style his hair, the look was perfection. 

Hair gelled and styled just right, he twisted from left to right, admiring himself in the mirror. His date didn’t even know they had a date, but this was big, and Gavin needed to look just right. He brought his thumb and index finger together, shooting himself the “perfect” symbol in the mirror before dodging deceptively cute little fish hooks as he passed the bed and headed down the stairs. 

It sounded like Eli was in his lab again, and he didn’t want to bug Chloe so Gavin called out a generic, “See ya in a bit!” before sliding out the door. He didn’t really want to answer questions anyway, so it was ideal that he could basically sneak out. 

He needed to swing by a gift shop, and had the address pulled up in his head already. Otherwise, he was as prepared as he could be, pulling out of the driveway right at noon. 

*****

  
Unease crept its way to Nines even in stasis, and he awoke Friday feeling conflicted and stressed. It was October 7th, Gavin’s birthday. He opened a message window to tell the android ‘Happy Birthday’. Should he send a message though, or not? Would receiving one upset the G2?… would having the day ignored upset him more? He closed the message window without having written anything. On one hand, Nines had complete faith that this was _Gavin_ and he knew what the man wanted: attention, a gift, to be spoiled, etc on his birthday. The other hand however understood that this was a sensitive topic, a complicated one thanks to their situation. 

Opening the message system window again, he typed “Good morning, Happy Birthday!”... and closed it again, unsent. It was too impersonal. Or was that just an excuse? The indecision consumed him, and the gloomy rain wasn’t helping. At least he hadn’t had any “dreams” suggesting he kill the man. Silver lining, he supposed.

One thing Nines certainly wouldn’t be, was empty handed. In case he had the opportunity to see the G2 today and there was any desire to celebrate, he had just the gift in mind.

Even when a gift wasn’t easily something that could be wrapped in a box, a tangible, physical item needed to be presented. Gavin had taught him that. Nines scrolled through thousands of card designs in his head, settling on the font and imagery he wanted. He’d need to pick up some cardstock and envelope in town to print his gift onto. He could use some new shirts and such while he was out and about anyway, and maybe shopping would be a good distraction. 

He killed a few hours by straightened up the living room a bit, throwing some clothes in the laundry and doing a quick dust sweep of the shelves. Without a human in the house, the place stayed ~~boring~~ ~~lonely~~ ~~empty~~ ...clean.

He headed to a stationary store on the far side of town first and browsed their options. They didn’t have exactly what he’d been hoping for, but he settled on something that would work for the gift. 

The mall was busy for noon on a Friday, probably thanks to the rain. Nines wove among the groups of people and laughing kids, meandering through the large space. His normal go-to for work attire let him down, coming up underwhelmed with everything he tried on. One of the bigger department stores had some slacks he was happy with, and another had some nice basic button-up shirts. He’d need new shoes, too. The ones 86 had stolen were his favorite pair, and he’d be damned if he’d ever wear that same design again. 

Sitting for a while just to people watch while mindlessly opening the third box of shoes he’d selected, a young man passed by with a T-shirt that read “Fueled by caffeine and hatred.” ‘Solid Gavin attire’, Nines thought to himself, and wondered if he could find something similar that referenced “thirium and hatred.” He’d have one made, if nothing else. He sighed, opening up the message window once again. 

**Nines (🤞) 2:27pm** : I should’ve sent this sooner, I’ve been torn about how to handle today. I want to wish you a Happy Birthday though, and I hope that doesn’t cause you any stress. I’d love to see you, if you end up with time, or we can celebrate any other day if you’d prefer. 

Hooking the corner of his lip in his teeth, he sent it and stared anxiously at the message screen. He didn’t know what to expect in reply. Two minutes passed, without any reply at all, and Nines frowned.

 **Nines (🤞) 2:29pm** : Just let me know if there’s anything I can do to make your day better :)

The message sat this time, unreceived, and Nines stopped breathing. ‘Unreceived’ only happened when an android’s communications were offline, be it intentionally or unintentionally. “ _Fuck_ ,” Nines voiced out loud into the shoe store. A young girl a couple rows down giggled, her mother shooting Nines a glare. “Sorry,” he waved apologetically and grabbed one of the boxes he’d picked at random—he didn’t care at this point what the shoes looked like—he paid for them and left the store. 

Mind racing with possible ways he’d messed up, Nines plopped his purchases into the trunk of his car and growled out a much louder, _“Fuuuuuck!_ ” once seated in the confines of his car. 

He shouldn’t have sent the message. Or maybe he’d sent it too late and Gavin had wanted it sooner? Or it had nothing to do with the message and he’d messed up during their date, said something wrong? _‘You’ve said plenty wrong,_ ’ his conscience unhelpfully provided. “Or just maybe not said the _right_ things. Like, you know, calling by his own name...” he argued with himself out loud.

Checking the message for the tenth time since sending it, Nines confirmed that it was still undelivered. Rejected. 

Briefly, he considered reaching out to Elijah. The G2 had told him on their date though that his brother had made tentative birthday plans. The last thing he wanted to do was further anger or upset the man by disrupting whatever they were doing. Blocking Nines’ message was a loud and clear sign that he did not wish to speak with him. With a groan of pained worry, Nines headed back to the apartment.

Per the new usual, emptiness greeted him there. He shook the rainwater from the bags, discarding the damp plastic into the trash after removing the garments. He hung his new clothes up in the closet, taking his time in removing the tags and smoothing out any wrinkles from the haphazard handling in the car. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he pulled the storage stuffing out of the shoes, studying them momentarily. They weren’t as perfect as his former pair, but he’d get used to them. 

Deciding it was still best to be prepared either way, he printed his gift onto the cardstock paper and folded it neatly within the white envelope. It sat on the kitchen counter, useless to make anything better. 

Torn between whether he wanted to cry or yell, he settled for staring at the TV. All he could do was pray that the G2 was having a good day despite Nines’ mistakes, and that he could fix whatever he’d done as soon as he was given the opportunity. 

***** ****

 **Elijah Kamski 6:28pm** : Good evening, I hate to do the cliche brother thing, but is Gavin with you by chance?

Every one of Nines’ synthetic hairs stood on end, his stress level lurching upward.

 **RK900-87 6:28pm** : No, he said he had plans with you today so I was trying not to interfere. If I’m being honest, I wasn’t entirely sure how to handle today, and I’m afraid I might’ve upset him. 

**Elijah Kamski 6:29pm** : Shit, ok. We talked about doing something but never set anything in stone. He’s been gone all afternoon and won’t answer my messages. I’m starting to get worried and was hoping he’d ended up with you. 

**RK900-87 6:29pm** : Unfortunately not. Do you have a way to track him?

 **Elijah Kamski 6:30pm** : Of course not. That would be a horrible invasion of his privacy. 

**RK900-87 6:30pm** : Fair point, I’m actually relieved to hear that. I’m leaving the apartment now, I’ll find him. 

**Elijah Kamski 6:30pm** : Let me know if you do, please.

 **RK900-87 6:30pm** : Absolutely, will do.

Dread, like Nines was far too familiar with at this point, pooled in every corner of his chassis. He stood rigid in the middle of their living room, like a rubber band ready to snap.

 **Nines (🤞) 6:30pm** : Hey, your bother just messaged that he couldn’t get ahold of you… is everything ok?

 **Nines (🤞) 6:31pm** : Please answer me. Do you need help?

Unreceived. Both of them, just like the earlier message. Nines practically sprinted to the car, every worst case scenario running wild through his mind. He focused on the more reasonable options, pulling up the addresses for everywhere Gavin might have wanted to go to celebrate or hide from his birthday, and plotted the fastest course to each of them. 

The retro arcade was closest, so he started there. Typical for a Friday evening, it was bustling. Groups of kids and adults alike hurried through the frigid rain to and from the establishment. Nines combed the parking lot twice, seeing no signs of Gavin’s Jeep. 

It made little sense for the G2 to end up at the next place on his list, Gavin’s favorite bar, but... nostalgia maybe? He swept the lot and made a quick walk through the place, coming up empty handed again. Similarly, the pool hall, coffee and book shop, and the mall he’d just been at earlier, were all absent of the familiar vehicle in the lot or face in the crowd. 

**Elijah Kamski 7:55pm** : Any luck?

 **RK900-87 7:55pm** : Not yet. 

“Ugh,” Nines groaned out loud, tapping his forehead against the steering wheel. A thought suddenly occurred to him and he wondered why it hadn’t crossed his mind sooner. His tires chirped on the wet pavement, speeding out of the crowded mall parking lot. 

It was unusually cold for early October, and the steady rain in the dim evening light made the rows and rows of headstones all the gloomier as Nines pulled into the large cemetery. Sure enough, the familiar Jeep came into sight as Nines rounded a narrow stretch of trees dividing the memorial spaces. He parked behind it, breathing out a giant wave of relief and grabbed an umbrella before heading between the stones, toward Gavin’s grave. 

A familiar outline sat alone, cross-legged and shoulders hunched, huddled close to a headstone bearing his own name. His forehead brushed the granite, almost resting on it, back facing Nines’ approach. He didn’t move as Nines made his way toward him, though he knew the android could hear his shoes sloshing in the wet grass. As he grew closer, Nines could tell the man had been sitting there for quite some time, clothes completely soaked through and hair matted flat against his head. 

A bright spot of color just to the left of the headstone contrasted the rest of the scene— a small arrangement of fresh flowers with a single balloon tied to it. The balloon was adorned with an enthusiastic “Happy Birthday!” and floated barely above the ground, weighed down by the rain. 

Nines walked beside the other android, who barely turned his head to acknowledge him before resuming his position, and extended the umbrella to cover them both. 

Wet streams traced the man’s cheeks, and it would have been difficult to distinguish tears from rain if either of them had been human. Thirium tears may appear clear, but they still stood out to another android. The G2 sniffled, staring at the etched stone. Small streams of rain fell from clumps of his hair and off the end of his nose, and his LED was stuck 50/50 between yellow and red.

Nines tested quietly, “Gavin?”

Another sniffle, and then a slow head shake from the G2 before he replied, “Next floor down, and not very good company, I’m afraid.” The younger android stared at the headstone in silence for another moment before sitting upright suddenly, shaking his head more vigorously as a thought occurred to him. “Shit, I’m sorry,” the G2 moved to stand up. “I’ll go, and let you pay your respects in peace. I wasn’t thinking, I’m sorry.” 

Nines grasped his shoulder, stopping him from rising further and gently clarified what he’d thought was obvious, “I was talking to _you_ ,” as he took a seat next to the G2 on the drenched grass. 

The look he received was hurt, edging on offense. “You don’t have to call me that,” the android whispered, withdrawing and settling back onto the grass, “I know you don’t believe it.”

“That’s not true…” Nines defended softly, “but it’s my fault you wouldn’t know that.”

“I don’t need your pity, Nines. And I don’t want a lie.”

“I understand.” Pushing this particular stress further, right now, was unfair. After more time passed without reply from the other android, Nines spoke up again. “I like your flowers. I’m sorry I didn’t bring any… I was too worried to think about it. I should’ve, though.” 

It wasn’t the right thing to say. The G2 cast a sad glance at his balloon, before frowning and curling further in on himself. 

“Your brother messaged me that he was worried about you. We both thought you were with the other. Can I tell him I found you?”

“Jus’ tell him I’m fine,” Gavin muttered. 

**RK900-87 8:23pm** : Hey, I found him. 

**Elijah Kamski 8:23pm** : Is everything ok?

 **RK900-87 8:23pm** : I think so. I’ll take care of him. 

**Elijah Kamski 8:24pm** : I’m sorry to dump anything unplanned on you. Let me know if you or he need anything, please. 

**RK900-87 8:24pm** : Everything about this man, every single moment from the very beginning has been ‘unplanned.’ Be that as it may, I love him beyond words and will gladly spend every moment I can get, planned or unplanned, by his side.

Nines fired the reply off, not caring how shocking it may be to the recipient. Gavin hadn’t moved, eyes still hooded, staring at the grass beneath him. So Nines also, simply sat. He held the umbrella over the man he loved and let the silent darkness deepen around them. Gavin’s shoulders would quake every so often as fresh tears crested his eyelashes. 

“You don’t have to do this,” Gavin whispered after nearly a half of an hour. “You don’t have to join my miserable pity party.”

“There’s nowhere on earth I’d rather be, than sitting next to wherever you are. Even if it’s in the pissing rain,” he smiled, drawing an almost-smile from the G2. 

“I’m so stupid,” Gavin shook his head, “I didn’t think I’d handle this so badly.”

“Is this the first time you’ve been here?”

Gavin nodded.

“I… I can’t possibly imagine this being an easy thing to handle.” Nines paused, remembering. “Connor had to literally come rescue me the first time I came here. He thought I’d killed myself when he walked up.”

Gavin huffed a small laugh, producing a familiar RK900 thirium pump from where it had been sitting concealed in his lap. “Can’t imagine why,” he laughed again, despite the tears streaming down his face, holding the vessel up. 

“I halfway forgot I’d left that here,” Nines admitted. “I hope it didn’t startle you.”

“Nah, I knew where it must’ve come from.” He sniffled again, setting the pump back in front of the headstone.

After letting some silence drag out again, Nines asked, “How long have you been sitting here?”

“Since 12:48pm.”

“You know, I would’ve been sitting here with you all day if you’d told me you wanted to come.”

Slowly shaking his head, Gavin replied, “I wanted to do this alone. I mean, I didn’t know what I was doing, it just,” he began crying again, “felt like a thing I needed to do. And then I couldn’t stop fucking crying and now I feel like such a dumbass… and I didn’t mean for anyone to see me like this and—” he halted his own words, biting off a sob.

Nines offered, “Would you like me to go?” He didn’t want to go, but Gavin hadn’t asked him to come, and if he was intruding, it was only reasonable to offer. 

The G2’s shoulders trembled while he looked at Nines, barely stifling himself from completely falling apart. “No,” he finally replied, turning his head away again as the threads of his composure began to unravel. “I just… I’m so confused, all of the time Nines and I’m so fucking scared and—”

Nines slid closer, balancing the umbrella so that he could wrap both arms around Gavin. He pulled the man firmly against him as the younger android began to weep outright, burying his face in Nines’ shoulder. Nines rocked them both, rubbing paths up and down Gavin’s back and letting him pour all of his fear and sadness down the front of his shirt. “It’s ok,” he whispered, “let it all out baby, it’s ok.”

Almost incomprehensible between the sobs, he heard Gavin plead softly, “...I just… I want to go home.”

Shifting their position without letting go, Nines slid his arm beneath the G2’s knees. “Ok, we can do that,” he whispered back, picking Gavin up bridal style while he clung tightly around Nines’ neck. “Let’s go home, Gavin.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we can finally, officially welcome the “Comfort” part of this story 😌


End file.
